Idipf Russell Mountain Fire Information

The Russell Mountain Fire was reported early afternoon on August 24, 2022. It is located within the Selkirk Mountain Range on the Bonners Ferry Ranger District of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. It is approximately 10 miles southwest of Copeland Idaho, near the Ball Creek drainage and burning on a southern aspect. There are currently no values at risk and it's current strategy management is confine and contain.

There are no evacuations at this time. However, when living in fire prone areas it is recommended that all area residents have an evacuation plan in place including having all important documents, pictures, prescriptions, and pets gathered up and easily transportable. Residents of Boundary County, ID can visit https://www.nixle.com or text home zip code to 888777 to sign up for emergency alerts.

Basic Information
Current as of	Tue, 09/06/2022 - 14:12
Incident Type	Wildfire
Cause	Lightning
Date of Origin	Wed, 08/24/2022 - 01:47
Location	13 miles northwest of Bonners Ferry
Incident Commander	IC-4 Wagner
Coordinates	48° 47' 16'' Latitude -116° 34' 16 '' Longitude

Current Situation
Total Personnel:	4
Size	4,811 Acres
Percent of Perimeter Contained	0%
Fuels Involved	Timber (Litter and understory) Brush (2 feet) Burning in subalpine fir, white pine, douglas fire, western larch, and pockets of heavy dead and down.
Significant Events	Active fire behavior with crowning, group torching and flanking. Dry outflow winds of 30-40 mph pushed fire to the east the evening of 9/30 with crown runs, group torching and flanking. Fire moved 2 miles to the east and spotted across Ball Creek to the south.

Outlook
Planned Actions	Monitor and establish MAP's and gather information for a long term plan.
Projected Incident Activity	12 hours: Fire will be active through the evening hours and continue to take advantage of poor RH recoveries and continue growth where heavy fuels and slope align. Some spread to the east is likely with flanking runs. 24 hours: High pressure will be firmly established allowing for warm and dry conditions with unstable air (Red Flag Warning.) Fire will continue to burn uphill in heavy subalpine fir and will also flank and back with flanking growth to the east and down canyon. 48 hours: Red Flag Warning continues through the evening for dry and unstable air. Breezy conditions expected which will influence spread. Easterly component may help keep fire spread away from the values at the mouth of the Ball Creek. 72 hours: Beginning of slight cooling trend will lower temps a bit and potentially slow fire spread. Low RHs and breezy conditions will still allow for spread. Anticipated after 72 hours: Low pressure may move into area mid-week and moderate conditions somewhat. Limited moisture is in the forecast and any disturbances that come in may bring breezy conditions.

Current Weather
Weather Concerns	Red Flag Warning issued for 9/2 and 9/3 for dry unstable conditions. Poor overnight RH recoveries and valley temps in the 90s have resulted in conditions where fire has been active. Breezy conditions expected the next few days which will increase fire spread potential through the weekend. A cool down is expected early to mid week.

Single Incident Information

Russell Mountain Fire

Unit Information

Incident Contacts

This incident is no longer being updated.

Recent Articles

Incident Information System