Single Publication

Incident Commander:  Rick Connell, Northern Rockies Team 5

Locations:

• Middle Fork Complex Location: 9 miles east of Garden Valley, ID
• Bull Trout Location: 15 miles WNW of Stanley, ID
• Wapiti Location: 2 miles southwest of Grandjean, ID

Start Dates:  07/24/24 – 08/06/2024

Cause: Lightning

Size:                                       

• Bull Trout: 271 acres
• Wapiti: 17,520
• Middle Fork Complex: 31,087
• Bulldog: 5,801
• Nellie: 25,286

Containment:             

• Middle Fork Complex: 5%
• Wapiti: 10%
• Bull Trout:  92%

Resources on site:      

• Middle Fork Complex: 6 type 2 hand crews; 10 engines; 2 water tenders
• Wapiti: 3 hot shot crews; 3 type 2 hand crews; 24 engines; 3 water tenders; 1 skidgen
• Bull Trout: 1 type 2 crew; 1 engine

Total Personnel:         

• Middle Fork Complex: 362         
• Wapiti: 228
• Bull Trout: 39  

KEY MESSAGE: 

Yesterday afternoon, the Boise County Sheriff’s Office issued a mandatory evacuation order for the Danskin area north of Highway 17 and the community of Hanging Valley is in Level 3 “GO” evacuation status due to the Highway 21 closure. Evacuation information will be posted on the Boise County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. For closure information, please visit Boise National Forest’s website – Alerts & Closures. Smoke will be visible and could impact roadways today, please follow the instructions of emergency responders and drive safely.

There will be Community meeting in Stanley tonight at 6:00 p.m. at the Stanley Community Center at 500 Eva Falls Avenue, Stanley, Idaho.

The Middle Fork Complex will be transitioning to two incident management teams in the next couple days. Great Basin Team 3 will assume command of the Middlefork Complex (Bulldog and Nellie Fires) Friday morning at 6 am and Rocky Mountain Team 1 will assume command of the Wapiti Fire on Sunday at 6 am.

 CURRENT STATUS/PLANNED ACTIONS:

Middle Fork Complex: The Middle Fork Complex is comprised of the Bulldog and Nellie fires.  

On the Bulldog Fire, crews are progressing north on FS road 698 and holding the fire on the east side. Firefighters will be in the area of Silver Creek conducting wildland urban interface assessment. This includes inventory of homes and structures, assessing hazards such as fuel tanks and firewood piled near structures to develop the best strategy to place fireline, hoses, and sprinklers needed to support wildland fire actions. Firefighters are continuing to improve and hold direct and indirect lines. The public is reminded that the Middlefork Road (FS Road 698) is closed at the Forest Service boundary just north of Lightning Creek and the Scriver Creek Road (FS Road 693) is also closed at the Forest Service Boundary for firefighter and public safety as crews continue to work to protect private property and structures in the vicinity of Crouch.

On the Nellie Fire, critical weather conditions and active fire behavior occurred throughout the day and into the evening yesterday and the fire grew over 5,000 acres to the north and south. Engines, heavy equipment, and aircraft are working along Highway 17 in the Danskin area. Crews are planning to construct a fireline on the southwest side of the fire along the highway, moving north. The fire continues to grow to the north between the Rattlesnake Fire burn area to the east and the Pioneer Fire area to the west. Firefighters are working at the Deadwood Reservoir to provide for infrastructure protection within the wildland urban interface. The public is reminded that Forest Service Road #555 is closed at the intersection of Highway 17 all the way to the Forest Service Road #579 intersection.

Wapiti Fire:  The Wapiti Fire continues to grow with active fire behavior with group torching, long range spotting, and terrain driven runs. Yesterday the fire grew over 8,000 acres. Firefighters conducted strategic firing operations to limit the spread to the northwest, consuming fuels between the active fire and the 2003 Canyon Creek Fire area. Crews continued to mop-up fire and hotspots throughout the day and night for Sawtooth Lodge, Bear Creek, Camp Creek, and Wapiti Creek Summer Home areas. Fire is expected to continue to spread downhill and along the ridge lines to the west and north. Firefighters will continue to operate along Highway 21 to prevent the fire from impacting the highway and growing to the west. Today, crews will be staffing the northeast end of the fire, addressing the potential for growth towards Stanley Lake in the Sawtooth National Forest. Two handcrews, heavy equipment and engines are positioning in the Stanley Lake area to take action when the fire approaches the lake, including the Stanley Creek, Ironwood, and Goat communities The Sawtooth National Forest is closing the Stanley Lake Recreation Complex and connecting trails for public safety. Highway 21 remains closed from MP92 to MP107 from the Grandjean area to the Custer County line due to wildfire activity. This area starts at Forest Road 025RC (MP 92), which accesses Warm Springs Guard Station and air strip to the Custer County line MP107.

Bull Trout Fire: The Bull Trout fire is still 92% contained, with little heat observed yesterday. An engine continues to patrol the fire daily to ensure no changes in activity.

WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR:

Elevated to critical fire weather conditions are expected this afternoon and evening. The morning inversion will lift during the early afternoon hours, with relative humidity values will decrease by 3 pm. Winds will remain terrain driven through the morning, becoming southwesterly at 5-10mph with gusts up to 18. High slopes, ridgelines, and aligned drainages will see gusts up to 25 mph. Afternoon temperatures will be a couple degrees cooler than yesterday as scattered cumulus development is expected to develop in the afternoon like the last few days. Hot, breezy conditions persist, aiding in large fire growth. Group torching, spotting with wind, and terrain influenced growth is again expected once the inversion lifts.

CLOSURES, RESTRICTIONS, AND EVACUATIONS:

Middle Fork Complex: The Boise County Sheriff's Office continues to maintain the Level 2 evacuation notice for residents on and near the Middlefork Road between Stump Ranch Road up to Tie Creek Campground. The Boise National Forest issued an area closure for the fire (Closure #0402-06-59) effective August 12, 2024. The purpose of this order is to protect public safety during the fires.

Wapiti Fire: The evacuation order for Summer Homes and the Sawtooth Lodge remain in effect for the Wapiti Fire, as does the area closure issued by the Sawtooth and Boise National Forests (Closure #0402-05-94) effective August 12, 2024. This Order is for public and firefighter safety during fire suppression efforts of the Wapiti Fire.

Bull Trout Fire: The Bull Trout Fire Area Closure (Closure #0402-05-93) remains in effect for the roads and trails within the perimeter of the fire. The Boise National Forest issued this order on August,12, 2024. It will be rescinded as soon as it is safe to do so.

Closure information and maps are posted on the Forest’s website and the fire’s Inciweb page as they are in place. https://tinyurl.com/2u8v3pf7

The Boise National Forest, Idaho Department of Lands, and Bureau of Land Management are in Stage 1 fire restrictions on state, endowment, private and federal lands within the West Central Mountains Fire Restrictions Zone. For more information on the restrictions and a map visit:

https://www.idl.idaho.gov/fire-management/fire-restrictions-finder/