Around the 307
News, commentary, and other items of interest from the greater Wyoming landscape.
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Here are a few news items from the rather volatile week of February 9th, 2025:
On Wednesday, February 12th we learned that former Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) Director, Brian Nesvik who retired in 2019, was nominated by the Trump administration to serve as Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Nesvik worked his way up through the WGFD ranks starting out as a game warden in the Laramie and Pinedale areas. His 29-year career managing Wyoming’s wildlife ultimately included 5 years as the WGFD Director. His nomination as Director of USFWS has now been referred to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. If Nesvik’s nomination makes it out of the committee, he will still need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. You can read more in this press release from WGFD and also in this story from the Jackson Hole News & Guide.
Also around 10:45pm Wednesday night, a heater at the Wyoming Refining Company in Newcastle, Wyoming, exploded. The blast rattled the local community and unleashed a power surge that took down the town of Newcastle’s electricity and 911 dispatch lines; 911 services were restored early the following morning. Roads to the refinery were temporarily closed following the incident and first responders were on scene within minutes. Roads reopened Thursday morning and damage to the facility was easily observable. Fortunately there were no injuries as a result of the accident which remains under investigation. The refinery remains idle for the time being as refinery personnel work with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to investigate the incident and evaluate when the facility can safely restart. Read more in this article published by the Newsletter Journal.
Friday, February 14th a horrific crash occurred inside the Green River highway tunnel on the westbound lane of Interstate-80 (I-80). The fiery crash occurred just before mid-day and involved multiple passenger and commercial vehicles in the westbound tunnel at I-80 mile marker 90.2. First responders on scene fought the ensuing blaze throughout the night. As of this morning with the fire finally extinguished initial investigations conducted by the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) show no sign of collapse in the westbound tunnel. Interstate 80 traffic in both directions continues to be routed around the crash site and through the city of Green River. You can read the latest updates about this situation on the WYDOT news release page and also here in this story from the Rocket Miner. Sadly as of press time two fatalities have been confirmed as a result of this accident along with a number of injuries. Given the scope of the incident it is a miracle the death toll was not worse.
That’s all for today. Please stay safe out there folks. Thanks for reading and have a good week.
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