The first noticeable fire of the 2009 summer season has been spotted in Yellowstone National Park's Lamar Valley, as a small burn on the southwest slope of Druid Peak is now large enough to be noticed.

So far the Druid Fire has been small and confined to only a half-acre or so of land. It is active, and it is expected to grow slowly and eventually be seen from the Northwest Entrance Road, a little over a mile and a half east of the Buffalo Ranch and about 16 miles southwest of Cooke City.

This is the fourth fire reported in Yellowstone National Park this summer. All have been caused by lightning.

This is the first fire to grow beyond one-tenth of an acre in size.

The fire danger in Yellowstone National Park is "Moderate."  The weather forecast calls for sunny to partly cloudy skies and a chance of isolated afternoon and evening thunderstorms for the next several days.

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