Question about fires.

[Recurve62]

Guys, I have a question about what happens around fire areas. The Beaver Creek fire looks like it has burned some into the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness just east of the area that we hunt, and having no experience with western fires I was wondering, would elk tend to move more toward the upwind to escape smoke and fire, do they tend to really move off or just maintain a safe buffer? Another thought, do hunters tend to be drawn to the areas around recent fire looking for those areas where elk may have been pushed in to, thereby leading to more "competition" among hunters? Or maybe we won't even notice any difference, I'm just wondering?

 

[marksjeep]

I don't know if there is any rhyme or reason to what elk do around an active fire. The most recent fire information is here, http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4797/, just in case you were not familiar with the site. With regards to hunters, I have never heard anyone suggest hunting near a fire to target elk that have been pushed out of a fire area. There is usually a significant closure area well beyond the perimeter of the fire.

 

[BeartoothFront]

There was a good thread started a few weeks back about it. Lots of good links and articles in it. I learned a lot about fires and elks reactions just reading the thread and a few links.

 

[vanish]

I don't know which season you are hunting, but the fire closure zone around the Beaver Creek Fire is large enough that it won't matter until the closure is revoked. The elk will most likely have no reason to leave the closure zone (its like a 5-7 mile buffer)