Feb. 24—CHEYENNE — Plumes of smoke rose steadily and blanketed much of south Cheyenne from mid-morning through early afternoon on Saturday as firefighters from multiple local agencies worked to contain a large, wind-swept grass fire.

According to a staff meteorologist with the National Weather Service of Cheyenne, the fire — which the NWS Cheyenne was told originated from a vehicle fire — was fanned by wind gusts that reached speeds of up to 70 miles per hour.

NWS Cheyenne officials said they were given that information by state officials. An NWS representative also added that the incident was a “truck fire that jumped onto the grass at around 9:20 (Saturday) morning,” according to materials the agency was provided.

Titus Norris, a battalion chief with Cheyenne Fire Rescue, told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle that the Laramie County Fire Authority commanded the response to the fire. Officials with LCFA did not respond to requests for comment from the WTE by press time.

Darrick Mittlestadt, chief of Laramie County Fire District 1, told the WTE by text message Saturday evening that the fire started in the median of Interstate 80, crossed the highway and burned east to Otto Road and the West Lincolnway exit.

“It blew over Roundtop Road like it was nothing,” Mittlestadt said in his text message. “It also blew over Otto Road to the (Union Pacific) rail line. We had railroad ties on fire on track 1.

“The wind was not our friend.”

At several different times throughout the day, portions of both major interstates near the city were closed, with Interstates 80 and 25 locked down in both directions to traffic as firefighters got the flames under control. West Lincolnway also was blocked off by emergency response teams for part of the day, starting west of Little America Hotel and Resort.

Dense smoke continued throughout the early afternoon on Saturday, particularly in the southern part of Cheyenne. Much of the area west of Interstate 25 and south of Interstate 80 appeared to be burnt.

A drive along Interstate 80 mid-afternoon revealed that a portion of the area between eastbound and westbound Interstate 80 had been burnt, as well. The charring appeared to go as far west as mile marker 352 on Interstate 80, around four miles west of the Roundtop Road exit.

According to reports made on the emergency response radio frequencies monitored by the WTE, a firefighter was hit by a “snapped cable” during the fire response around mile marker 352 of Interstate 80, near Roundtop and Otto roads. An American Medical Response ambulance was reportedly dispatched to the nearby DynoNobel chemical plant around 12:15 p.m. Saturday.

Mittlestadt said via text that the injured firefighter had been treated and was home Saturday evening.

It was unclear whether anyone else had been hurt or whether any structures were damaged or lost in the blaze.

Multiple agencies assisted with response to the fire, including Laramie County Fire Districts 10, 1 and 4, Laramie County Fire Authority and Cheyenne Fire Rescue. Traffic control and other support were provided by Wyoming Highway Patrol and the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department.

Samir Knox is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s criminal justice and public safety reporter. He can be reached by email at sknox@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3152. Follow him on Twitter at @bySamirKnox.