Single Publication

Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team Three

Bill Waln, Incident Commander

Location: 5 miles east Lapwai, Idaho                             Date Reported: July 24, 2024                          Cause: Lightning

Size: 28,805 acres                                                               Containment: 10%                                             Total Personnel: 224

Current Situation:

• Due to the hard work of the firefighters and local resources, the Gwen fire is now 10% contained. The containment is located along the fire’s perimeter south of the Arrow Bridge to just east of the intersection of the N. Tom Beall and Middle Tom Beall roads.
• The fire area received approximately two tenths (0.2) of an inch of rain over the last 12 hours. 
• Firefighters will take the opportunity of the brief break in the weather to make progress in reducing the threat of the fire moving outside the current footprint. 
• Crews will be walking the perimeter on the south and west portions of the fire mopping up or extinguishing hot spots along the fire’s edge. When fire managers are confident that the perimeter in these areas are secure, they will be added to the containment of the fire. 
• Hazards from the fire remain along roadways and around structures within the fire perimeter. These hazards include fire traffic and firefighters along the roadways, falling fire-weakened trees, and rocks and debris on the roadways.
• Active fire remains in the Pine Creek Drainage. Crews and aviation resources were successful at keeping the fire in check yesterday and they will continue to focus cooling hot spots in the Pine Creek Drainage. Secondary containment lines have been established east of the drainage as a contingency plan if the fire were to spot across the drainage. 

Evacuations: EVACUATIONS REMAIN IN PLACE -Level 1 Get Ready; Level 2 Get Set; Level 3 Go. For the safety of responders please Go if asked to leave. The fire behavior is very unpredictable and life threatening.

• Latah County Sheriff’s Office Level 1, 2, and 3 evacuation orders for multiple areas of the fire. Learn more at https://www.facebook.com/LatahCountySO and call: (208) 882-2216
• Nez Perce County Sheriff’s office has issued level 1, 2, and 3 evacuations orders for their county. Those are posted on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NezPerceCountySheriffsOffice.
• Nez Perce County Emergency Management Interactive Evacuation Map: https://bit.ly/3yewVv0

Air Quality Information: Please visit https://fire.airnow.gov/ for resources on smoke and air quality. Air quality monitors indicate unhealthy for sensitive groups in the Lapwai area. 

Weather and Fire Behavior: Winds will be lighter today with a slight chance of thunderstorms. Relative humidity will remain lower today and temperatures will be 5 to 10 degrees cooler. Hot, dry conditions will return on Thursday. 

Closures: The Idaho Transportation Department opened Highway 12 last night. Highway 3 corridor is now open as well. Hazards remain alone the highway, please use extreme caution when traveling in and around the fire area. 

GWEN FIRE INFORMATION

Fire Information Phoneline: (208) 843-3534 (Time: 7am-7pm)                             Email: 2024.Gwen@firenet.gov

Facebook: @IdahoDepartmentofLands    InciWeb: inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/idids-2024-gwen-fire