Fires closes National Park

[weatherwunder]

JACKSON, Wyoming (AP) -- A fast-moving wildfire temporarily closed a section of the main north-south highway through Grand Teton National Park and prompted the evacuation of up to 300 people from a campground.

The fire in the northwest corner of the state had spread to about 500 acres by nightfall Sunday. No one was injured and no structures were threatened, park spokeswoman Joan Anzelmo said.

The Gros Ventre campground was expected to remain closed at least until Monday. Anzelmo said the evacuation was precautionary and the 200 to 300 affected campers were allowed to take their tents, trailers and other gear with them.

A 10-mile section of U.S. 89 near Jackson, at the south end of the park, was closed for three hours because of the proximity of the fire. It reopened at 8:30 p.m.

The entrance to Jackson Hole Airport was within the closed section, but the fire didn't affect flights, airport security officer Bert Smith said.

The fire was one of about a dozen sparked by lightning Sunday.

In Yellowstone National Park, bordering Grand Teton to the north, lightning sparked six small wildfires. The largest burned 70 percent of the 638-acre Frank Island in Yellowstone Lake.

In the Big Horn Mountains in north-central Wyoming, a 3,340-acre blaze was 80 percent contained, said Steve Ambrose of the Rocky Mountain Area Coordinating Center in Denver. It threatened eight seasonal cabins.