Single Publication

WEST MOUNTAIN COMPLEX

Boulder, Snag, Wolf Creek, Dollar & Goat Fire Updates

August 26, 2024

Fire                     Location                                     Size                      Containment         Start Date

Boulder               9 miles SW of Cascade                2,313 acres           44%                      7/24/2024

Wolf Creek          5 miles W of Donnelly                 1,154 acres           95%                      7/24/2024

Snag                   11 miles E of Cascade                 25,235 acres         3%                        8/5/2024

Dollar                 18 miles NE of Cascade               2,665 acres           0%                        8/5/2024

Goat                   11 miles SE of Cascade                1,963 acres           0%                        8/5/2024

Cause: Lightning (All Fires)

Total Incident Personnel: 1,094

Army crews from the 14th Brigade Engineer Battalion based at Joint Base Lewis McChord are currently assisting with suppression efforts on the West Mountain Complex.

Weather | Anticipated Fire Behavior: 

Yesterday’s conditions produced low fire behavior, including creeping, smouldering, and isolated torching due to higher humidities, calmer winds, and morning cloud cover. Today, warmer and drier conditions will allow firefighters to conduct necessary burnout operations to help improve and secure containment lines. If weather conditions permit, planned burnout operations will produce additional smoke in the regions of the Snag Fire and Boulder Fire.

Boulder Fire:                                                           

https://tinyurl.com/ycdfv3tv

Yesterday on the south side of the Boulder Fire, firefighters continued mopping up and securing handline. An infrared flight showed areas of scattered heat on the southwest side, and crews will work today to extinguish them.  Army crews assisted with the mop up using hose lays. Crews also used chippers to reduce buildup of vegetation on the unburned side of the control lines to mitigate any future possibility of new spot fires. Areas of heat discovered along the northwest side of the fire yesterday temporarily suspended further chipping. Crews will work to suppress those hot spots today. Burnout operations may occur along the northeast corner where vegetation within containment lines remains unburned.

Dollar Fire:                                                                

https://tinyurl.com/bef6r3tz

There was minimal activity yesterday on the Dollar Fire. Crews continued to assess and improve the handlines leading up to the Needles ridge to prepare for a burnout operation on the western edge of the fire perimeter. The burnout operation will safely remove any remaining green pockets between the handline and the area that has already burned. If weather and safety parameters are met, that burnout operation could take place today.

Snag Fire:                                                              

https://tinyurl.com/4k9dk3mu

There was a little more fire activity yesterday on both the southwest and northern ends of the Snag Fire. Army crews assisted firefighters to improve indirect fire line while patrolling and mopping up hot spots. If safety parameters and weather conditions permit, crews hope to perform burnout operations today to consume islands of unburned vegetation to secure containment lines. These operations would occur in the area north of the Warm Lake Highway, on the western edge, and on the southwestern most edge of the fire.

Wolf Creek Fire:                                                    

https://tinyurl.com/mcksrfvh

Crews continued to monitor the Wolf Creek Fire today, which is still 95% contained. Firefighters mopped up hot spots within the interior of the perimeter yesterday. They are continuing suppression repair and rehabilitation, actions which are expected to continue over the next two weeks.

Goat Fire:                                                               

https://tinyurl.com/2h4a3dvr

Flights over the Goat Fire and assessments on the ground are providing the fire planning team with information and insight on potential natural control features if the Goat Fire were to spread to the south. There was some active fire in the bottom of Goat Creek yesterday. The planning team is assessing future actions to maintain contingencies should there be any significant wind shifts in future days. The unmanned aerial system (UAS) will be used for recon missions today.

Frequently Asked Question   Q: On the West Mountain Complex, a combination of confine and contain, and full suppression strategies are being applied. What is the difference between full suppression and a confine and contain strategy?

A:   Under a full suppression strategy, firefighters and or equipment is used to construct containment lines to prevent the fire’s forward progress. Under a confine and contain strategy, incident managers identify existing features on the landscape, such as roads, trails, rocky ridges, and previously burned areas that will naturally halt the fire due to a change in fuels conditions. ”Confine and contain” is most often applied when a fire is located in steep or inaccessible terrain, or poses immediate danger to firefighters due to overhead hazards or other hazardous conditions.

Other regional fire information: 

Middle Fork Complex (Nellie, Anderson, and Bulldog Fire): https://tinyurl.com/3rhawr5y 

Wapiti Fire: https://tinyurl.com/yf7reydj 

Bulltrout Fire: https://tinyurl.com/tatwwk5t 

SNAG FIRE EVACUATION INFORMATION

The Valley County Sheriff’s Office issued a “ready” evacuation order for Warm Lake residents and the North Shore Lodge at Warm Lake on August 7. The map can be found on Inciweb: https://tinyurl.com/42auxnk8. A second “ready” evacuation order was issued on August 8 for the Horsethief area, including the YMCA Camp, and areas of Scott Valley. This map can also be found on Inciweb, with the relevant areas outlined in purple:  https://tinyurl.com/4vfj657x

Review the READY, SET, GO evacuation procedure for Valley County: https://www.co.valley.id.us/ReadySetGo

For timely information on evacuations, check out your county’s emergency alert system. 

• Valley County: https://www.co.valley.id.us/CompleteEmergencyNotificationandAlerting
• Adams County: https://public.alertsense.com/SignUp/PublicUser.aspx?regionid=1077

ROAD CLOSURES

Warm Lake Highway Closure: The Valley County Sheriff’s Office is planning to allow residents and vetted contractors (those providing services to residents in the Warm Lake, Yellow Pine, and Big Creek areas) to come and go as needed without an escort along the Warm Lake Highway, dependent on weather and fire activity. The highway remains closed to the public and will only be open to those approved in advance by the Sheriff’s Office. For updates on county closures visit: https://www.co.valley.id.us/departments/SheriffsOffice.

FOREST CLOSURES

Hunting Closures: Prior to entering the backcountry, Idaho Fish and Game advises hunters to check with their local Forest Service ranger district offices or county sheriffs’ offices for fire closures in their hunt areas. For more information visit: https://tinyurl.com/4td8hwzc

The Boise National Forest modified or expanded their wildfire closures on August 12, 2024, to address public and firefighter safety and respond to increased wildfire growth. This closure area begins at the south end of the Dollar/Oro (Snag) fire closure area and continues south to Crouch and the Banks-Lowman Hwy, and east to the 579, 563 and 582 roads.

Dollar Fire Closure:

The Payette National Forest implemented an area closure on August 23, covering an area north of the Boise National Forest closure, to provide for public safety around the Dollar Fire. National Forest System trails #099, #100, #101, and #302 are impacted by the closure. 

Wolf Creek Fire Closures: On the Payette National Forest, a closure includes popular National Forest System roads around the Wolf Creek fire such as: sections of NFS Road #1763 (West Mountain Jeep Trail), #835, #206, and #326. On the Boise National Forest, Forest Road #435 (Anderson Lake Road) was closed on August 1. 

Boulder Fire Closures: The Boise National Forest has issued a closure order #0402-04-98 for National Forest System (NFS) roads, trails and lands encompassing the Boulder Fire. The closure was enacted to protect public safety and support fire suppression activities. The closure includes Blue Lake and Snowbank Mountain Road (#446) along with all #404 and #421 system roads. 

For maps and more detailed descriptions of the closures on the Payette National Forest, please visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/payette/alerts-notices

For maps and more detailed descriptions of the closures on the Boise National Forest, please visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/boise/alerts-notices 

Fire Restrictions: Stage 1 Fire Restrictions have been issued for the Payette Fire Restrictions Area on the Payette National Forest and the West Central Mountains Fire Restrictions Area on the Boise National Forest. For more information on the restrictions and a very helpful interactive map, visit https://www.idl.idaho.gov/fire-management/fire-restrictions-finder/

Temporary Flight Restrictions

Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) are in place over the Boulder, Dollar, Snag, and Goat Fires. Wildfires are a no-fly zone for unauthorized aircraft, including drones. If you fly, we can’t. For more information, visit http://knowbeforeyoufly.org.

Important Links

• Payette National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/payette
• Payette National Forest Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PayetteNationalForest
• Boise National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/boise
• Boise National Forest Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoiseNationalForest
• Idaho Department of Lands: https://www.idl.idaho.gov/fire-management/