Single Publication

Incident Commander:  Rick Connell, Northern Rockies Team 5

Middle Fork Complex Location: 9 miles east of Garden Valley, ID   

Bulltrout 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:                                       

Bulltrout: 271 acres                         Wapiti: 2279 acres

Middle Fork Complex:                    Bulldog: 1546 acres              Anderson: 1501 acres            Nellie: 900 acres

Containment:                                

Middle Fork Complex: 0%                                       Bulltrout:  73%                           Wapiti: 0%

Resources on site:      

Middle Fork Complex: 1 hotshot crew; 7 type 2 hand crew; 10 engines

Wapiti: 1 type 2 hand crew; 3 engines

Bulltrout: 1 engine

Total Personnel:                  Middle Fork Complex: 305             Bulltrout: 3   Wapiti: 33

KEY MESSAGE:

Join us for the Middle Fork Complex, Bulltrout, and Wapiti Fire Community Meeting today at 7pm for an in-person explanation of current fire activity and planned actions on these fires. The Community Meeting will be located at the Crouch Community Center, 1022 Old Crouch Road. 

CURRENT STATUS/PLANNED ACTIONS: 

Middle Fork Complex: The Middle Fork Complex is comprised of Bulldog, Nellie, and Anderson fires. On the Bulldog Fire, firefighters are thinning and trimming to remove flammable debris along the Middlefork Road (FS 698). The strategic firing operations along the south side of the fire last night was successful. Additional strategic firing actions are planned on the southeast corner of the fire tonight and crews are burning the fuels between the active fire edge and the constructed control line. This fire suppression tactic is an effective method of reducing the available fuels ahead of an active fire edge, while reducing the potential resource damage caused when high-severity fire occurs on timbered slopes. 

The public is reminded that the Middle Fork Road is closed at the Forest Service boundary just south of Lightning Creek. The Nellie and Anderson fires are burning in remote, rugged terrain and firefighters are searching for opportunities to engage those fires safely. Yesterday, a new lightning caused fire between Anderson and Nellie was initial attacked and contained at 0.25 acre. Today, firefighters are planning on wrapping the Deadwood Lookout by wrapping it in fire resistant material. 

Wapiti Fire: Firefighters continue to ensure the structures in the Summer Homes area are protected with defensible space, water pumps, and sprinklers. 

Bulltrout Fire: Crews will continue patrolling the fire area, repairing areas affected by suppression efforts, and extinguishing pockets of heat in the interior of the fire on the south side of the fire. 

WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR:

After a night of good overnight relative humidity recovery, conditions will be drier today and the inversion will lift by mid-afternoon. General winds will continue to be westerly around 3-7 mph with gusts of 10-12 mph. Late tonight, thunderstorms and showers are possible. This pattern will remain in place through Monday. Fire activity will continue to spread west and north in the South Fork Payette River drainage, and east and south into the Wapiti Creek drainage with spotting and group torching into receptive dead fuels. 

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 areas closure for the fire area on August 8th (Closure #0402-06-58 and Closure # 0402-06-57).

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 #0402-05-92 effective July 27, 2024). This Order is for public and firefighter safety during fire suppression efforts of the Wapiti Fire. 

Bulltrout Fire: The Bull Trout Fire Area Closure (0402-05-91) remains in effect for the roads, trails, and area surrounding the Bull Trout Fire. Boise National Forest issued this Order on July 27, 2024. It will be rescinded as soon as it is safe to do so. 

Closure information and maps are posted on the Forests’ 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/