Video of elk running through flames predates Wyoming wildfire
As a wildfire in the US state of Wyoming spread to more than 92,000 acres, social media users shared a clip of elk running through flames as evidence of the fire's destructive impact. But the footage is unrelated and instead depicts the animals escaping a blaze in Montana in 2021.
"With all the focus on the Hurricanes Wyoming isn't getting any News Coverage as tens thousands of acres of burns from wildfire endangering wildlife & cattle," a user said in an October 8, 2024 X post.
The post included a clip of elk darting through flames, attempting to get past a fence.
"Half of Wyoming is BURNING right now! I bet you didn't hear a peep about it, did you?" says the caption of an Instagram post that includes a screenshot from the same clip.
The video circulated on various social media platforms, including X, Instagram and TikTok. It was also shared in Spanish and French as the Elk Fire -- a large blaze detected September 27 and determined to be ignited by a lightning strike (archived here) -- raged through Bighorn National Forest in northern Wyoming.
As of October 17, the fire had spread to more than 96,000 acres, triggering evacuations and requiring 18 crews to manage it (archived here).
But the clip does not show a scene from the recent inferno in Wyoming.
A reverse image search using a screenshot from the video surfaces the clip in 2021 posts from ABC television (archived here and here).
ABC credited the footage to firefighter Christopher Sharpe, who gave the footage to Storyful for redistribution.
Sharpe had originally shared his video on Facebook on July 30, 2021 with the caption: "BIG HORN COUNTY, MONTANA. The elk did make it out safe" (archived here).
Wyoming and Montana are two of several western US states burdened by frequent and destructive wildfires. Nearly a million acres burned in Montana in 2021 (archived here).
On October 1, 2024 Wyoming received disaster designation for six counties from the US Department of Agriculture due to damage and losses caused by wildfire (archived here and here). This allows farmers in impacted areas to apply for emergency loans.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations body responsible for assessing the scientific basis of climate change, has repeatedly linked wildfires to climate change. In its Sixth Assessment Report, published between 2021 and 2023, experts said that data from western North America over three decades shows higher temperatures resulting from human-caused climate change led to more area burned in wildfires (archived here).
More of AFP's reporting on natural disasters and climate can be found here.