Single Publication

OLA, Idaho, September 11, 2024 – The Lava Fire continued to exhibit highly active behavior yesterday. On Monday, September 9th, the Lava Fire merged with the Boulder Fire for a combined acreage of 78,457 acres. Yesterday morning, the Southern Area Red Team, a Complex Incident Management Team (CIMT), was in-briefed by Wyoming Team 6, the type 3 team currently managing the Lava Fire. The Southern Area Red CIMT will take command of the fire on Thursday morning.

Last night and into the early morning, crews continued fire suppression and structure protection efforts. The fire continued growing to the north, northwest, west and south and multiple slop-overs occurred at the western and southern perimeters of the fire. A “slop-over” is a fire edge that crosses a control line or natural barrier intended to confine the fire. Crews are suppressing slop-overs primarily using direct dozer line and aerial resources. Fireline construction efforts will continue tomorrow, and a secondary control line will be constructed along the southern perimeter as fire and wind conditions allow. Firefighters use all available strategies and tools to suppress wildfires, and public and firefighter safety are the top priorities for fire managers.

Showers and storms are predicted for most of Wednesday, particularly in the afternoon. Scattered lightning and wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour are possible near storms. Small hail is possible and brief, heavy rains on fresh burns pose a flash flood and debris flow risk. Thunderstorms are expected to weaken Wednesday night and chances of wetting rain increase through Thursday.

Gem County Sheriff’s Office issued LEVEL 3 “GO!” Evacuation notices to residents on Third Fork Road (North of Nesbitt Lane), Second Fork Road (North of Nesbitt Lane), and the Sage Hen Reservoir area. Gem County Sheriff’s Office notified the residences in person on September 8th, 2024. A LEVEL 2 “SET” Evacuation has been issued for Nesbitt Lane residents.

Gem County Road and Bridge issued the following road closures: Third Fork Road at Nesbitt Lane, Second Fork Road at Nesbitt Lane, and Nesbitt Lane. The Sweet-Ola Highway is closed at the High Valley intersection in Ola. Please be advised that the Gem County Sheriff’s Office is staffing the road closure check points.

Adams County Sheriff’s Office issued LEVEL 3 “GO!” Evacuation notices to residents south of South Grays Creek and along Little Weiser Road in Indian Valley. A LEVEL 2 “SET” Evacuation has been issued for residents North of South Grays Creek Road to Highway 95, and a LEVEL 1 “READY” Evacuation has been issued for the Mesa area.

The Boise and Payette National Forests implemented a joint Lava and Boulder Fire Area, Road, and Trail Closure for public and firefighter safety. The closure includes Forest Service lands north of the 601 Road (approximately 7 miles southwest of Smiths Ferry) and north all the way to the northernmost extent of Lake Cascade. This expanded closure order supersedes previous closure orders for the Lava and Boulder fires. Visit the Lava Fire InciWeb page at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/idbof-lava-fire for more information.

For other news, events and information, visit the Boise National Forest website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/boise and follow the Boise on Facebook @BoiseNationalForest.