9-18-2020 Buck Fire Update

19,139 acres

Fire managers, coordinating with the Valley County Sheriff, are keeping the Johnson Creek temporarily closed at the section of the road from Trout Creek Campground to the Johnson Creek Airstrip. Road guards will be staged to keep vehicles from traveling on that stretch of road. However, homeowners will be allowed to access their property as long as it is safe to do so.

There are alternate routes to Yellow Pine:

1. The Lick Creek Road, out of McCall, is open. The roadway may be rough and it may not be an ideal route to tow a trailer. Contact Valley County for specific information on Lick Creek Road.

2. National Forest System road 474 or the South Fork Salmon River Road is undergoing construction. This week the road is closed through Friday 9/18 and open on the weekend. The week of Sept. 21, the road is closed on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is open after 4 p.m. and all day on the weekends.

Fire crews continue to move up the Johnson Creek road to assess protection needs for additional infrastructure and values at risk. Two contingency lines have been constructed along the Johnson Creek Road. The purpose of these lines is to stop or slow the spread of the fire along the steep face of the Johnson Creek valley and to ultimately prevent the fire from impacting the homes in Johnson Creek and in Yellow Pine. Multiple engines are positioned and patrolling the area.

Additional fire managers assigned to the fire are developing contingency plans for the area around Yellow Pine. Fire behavior models indicate a very low probability of the fire reaching Yellow Pine within the next week. Observations of the rate of fire spread in this area over the last several weeks back up the model predictions.

Today’s Objectives: Continue to use aircraft to to keep the fire in check and slow its progression downslope into Johnson Creek. Restrict access to the Johnson Creek road. Fire crews and engines are positioned to implement point protection strategies and opportunities to directly attack the fire when it is safe to do so. Significant safety concerns remain because of dense snag stands, inaccessible terrain, and lack of safety zones for personnel.

Weather: A Red Flag Warning is in effect from noon Thursday to 9 p.m. Friday. Warm/dry conditions are expected through Thursday and temperatures will be above normal. A low-pressure system moving into the Pacific Northwest will increase winds from the south, expect gusty winds on ridge tops and exposed areas. The cold front is expected to reach the fire Friday evening with winds from the east-southeast. Precipitation is predicted early Friday afternoon through Saturday morning.
 

Closures: With the increase in acreage, fire managers continue evaluating the need to modify the area closure which is in place for firefighter and public safety during wildfire suppression activities through Oct. 1, unless rescinded earlier. Visit. https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/boise/alerts-notices or the interactive story map: https://usfs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=1b9f2d8115374ad3a943d95decd3835d

Personnel and resources: 152 people are assigned to the fire. Ten engines, Four crews and three helicopters.

• All Forest visitors are reminded to completely douse fires with water or dirt, stirring the mixture to completely put the coals out.

• For Public safety, hunters and all visitors are encouraged to let someone know where they are going and to sign in at trailheads.

  Air quality Reports and Forecasts page for McCall: http://www.deq.idaho.gov/air-quality/monitoring/daily-reports-and-forecasts.aspx

Inciweb - Buck Fire:  https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7102/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/US-Forest-Service-Boise-National-Forest-1449890585280097/

Flicker: https://www.flickr.com/photos/boisenationalforest/albums/72157715778751262