Single Publication

Wapiti Fire Update

Saturday, September 7, 2024

For More Information: 

  Information Phone: 208-593-7132 

  Email:  2024.wapiti@firenet.gov 

  InciWeb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/idbof-wapiti-fire  

  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/wapitifireinfo2024/ 

  Linktree:  https://linktr.ee/WapitiFireInfo2024 

  Interactive Map:  https://tinyurl.com/WapitiFireInfoMap 

Special Notes: Yesterday provided an opportunity for Team 7 to shadow Rocky Mountain CIMT1 and obtain intel about the fire. The transition went smoothly. We wish them well on their travels home and thank them for their efforts.  State Highway 21 remains closed east of Lowman to Stanley from MP84 to MP130 due to wildfire activity. Highway 75 remains open. CIMT7 will host a public meeting for the Lowman area Sunday, Sept. 8 at 6:00 p.m. at the Lowman Fire Station. The meeting will attempt to be livestreamed on the Wapiti Fire Information Facebook page and a recording will be posted following the meeting.

Current Situation: Yesterday, fuels drove the fire's behavior. Despite the wind, warm, and dry conditions, acreage growth was limited. As the threat to structures and communities around most of the fire has decreased due to weeks of dedicated firefighting, future management decisions are predicated on how the fire responds to anticipated weather conditions. Firefighters continue to work day and night to protect values at risk near the fire. Crews are improving fire lines, mopping up, holding, and patrolling the fire's edge in safe areas. In other areas, they are focusing on reducing the fire's intensity or rate of spread if it approaches indirect control features. The Highway 21 corridor on the west side of the fire remains the top priority for protecting values at risk. Crews are reinforcing control lines, deploying structure protection equipment, and systematically slowing the fire's advance in this area. Plans are in place if the fire immediately threatens communities. Each day we delay the fire's progress brings us closer to fall moisture.

Division DD: Crews continue improving the fuels break along the Decker Flats Road south of the Fish Hatchery in the event the fire moves out of the Wilderness. Options for extending the line further south are being assessed. The fire in the Wilderness is slowly growing towards the south and east remaining in the river drainages with rocky alpine terrain above it. 

Division HH: Crews continue to work the fireline up to the goat rocks area, anticipating areas to check the fire into the indirect lines built over the last few days. 

Division KK and Structure Group East: Work continues to mop up and patrol along the entire division. The large spot east of Highway 21 is contained and remains in patrol status. Homeowners in Iron Creek, Homestead, and Crooked Creek subdivisions have been allowed to return, but remain in SET status.  

Division PP: Crews are monitoring and patrolling the western edge of the finger of the fire that crossed Highway 21. A spot near the tip of this finger is smoldering in the Halstead fire scar and is not a priority for action at this time. Chipping operations are underway to reduce fuels in the Highway 21 corridor near Thatcher Creek. Crews have completed structure prep work at Bradley Boy Scout Camp and remain on alert in the area. 

Division MM: Crews continue to grid for spots, mop up, and hold firelines within the Bull Trout Lake area. Some areas of the fire in the area have moved slowly into the County Line Fire scar. An evening flight recon will provide more intel on possible burn operations and holding concerns if the fire moves into heavier timber near Copper Mountain. Most of the Highway 21 corridor in the division has been prepped. 

Division WW and Structure Group West:  The Highway 21 corridor in Division WW is now the highest priority area in the fire. Efforts are focused on slowly backing the fire down from the southwest area of Eight Mile Ridge at a controlled rate. This is accomplished with aircraft water drops when conditions allow and firing operations to keep the fire from making runs back towards Warm Springs airstrip. Crews are working on Chapman Creek on the south side of Highway 21 to hold the fire’s progress at the bottom of the drainage. The fire is backing through a triangle of fuels near the highway. Firing operations will be used as needed in this area. Structure preparation work around Sourdough Lodge and the subdivisions of Two Ravens, Ten Ax, and Seven Peaks is essentially complete. Personnel will remain in place to maintain equipment and be alert to any threats. Crews continue patrolling within Hanging Valley and the Wapiti Creek area, along the 524 road, and the Grandjean area. 

Division VV:  The fire is slowly backing in this remote unroaded division. Fire managers are conducting structure assessment to plan ahead in case fire activity increases. Continued IR imagery and aircraft reconnaissance will assess fire movement and the potential need for any additional actions. 

Weather, Fuels, and Fire Behavior:  

The high-pressure system continues Saturday over the area, with sunny, warm, dry conditions. There will be slight chances of thunderstorms Saturday night into Sunday, with clear conditions returning into the beginning of the week. Temperatures Saturday will reach above 80 degrees, and relative humidities will stay in the teens. Winds will be light and out of the northeast then shifting southwest in the afternoon. Chances for precipitation increase going into Wednesday.

Evacuations: 

For evacuation information on the Wapiti Fire, please see the Custer County Sheriff’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/p/Custer-County-Sheriff-Idaho-61558947312289/  and the Boise County Sheriff’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/boisecountysheriff/. 

To sign up for Custer County CodeRED emergency notifications, text CUSTER to 99411 or enroll online at https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/BF28E45537FF . 

To sign up for Boise County Alert Sense emergency notification enroll online at https://public.alertsense.com/SignUp/publicUser.aspx?regionid=1163 

Closures and Fire Restrictions: 

State Highway 21 is still closed from MP84 to MP130 for public and firefighter safety. 

A Wapiti Fire Area Closure / Forest Order: 0414-04-151 for portions of the Boise, Sawtooth, and Salmon-Challis National Forests can be found at this site:  https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/sawtooth/alerts-notices. 

Boise National Forest Stage 1 Fire Restrictions / Forest Order: 0402-00-63 can be found at this site: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/boise/alerts-notices. 

Sawtooth National Forest Stage 1 Fire Restrictions / Forest Order 0414-00-044 can be found at this site: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/sawtooth/alerts-notices. 

Fire restrictions on state and private lands may be found at this site: https://www.idl.idaho.gov/fire-management/fire-restrictions-finder/. 

A Temporary Flight Restriction is in place over the Wapiti Fire. Wildfires are a no-fly zone for unauthorized aircraft, including drones. If you fly, we can’t.  For more information, visit http://knowbeforeyoufly.org. 

Fire Statistics

Size: 114,945 acres
Containment: 12%
Total Personnel: 1565
Location: Grandjean, ID
Reported: July 24, 2024
Cause: Lightning