Single Publication

Fire Location: 18 miles W of Leadore, Idaho

Size: 7076 acres

Containment: 0%

Personnel: 386

Start Date: 7/19/23

Cause: undetermined

Incident Commander: Mike Johnston, Great Basin Type 2 Incident Management Team #7

Summary: The Hayden Fire started on Wednesday, July 19th, 2023, at approximately 11:30 am. The fire is located in the Lemhi Range, 18 miles west of Leadore, Idaho.  The terrain is difficult, and the fire is burning in spruce/subalpine fir with a heavy dead/down timber component.  Fire cause is undetermined. 

 Weather | Anticipated Fire Behavior: Haze will become more common over western Montana and north central Idaho as local and regional wildfires become more active.  Low humidities and hot temperatures ranging from the mid 90s to low 100s will continue in the valleys through the day. An approaching dry cold front will increase southwest winds with the frontal passage tonight. These winds have a high potential to increase fire behavior on the north and east flanks of the fire. Expect increased fire behavior in Hayden and Mogg drainages. Fire will continue to burn along Cold Creek and Carol Creek.

Actions: Yesterday, gusting outflow winds moving out in front of storm cells in the fire area challenged containment lines. Significant fire activity and fire growth occurred to the north and east. By 1pm it was necessary for fire resources to back out for their safety. Today, fire personnel will be continuing to strengthen the firelines to the north, and implementing alternative plans to the east.

Important Information: An Air Resource Advisor has joined the Incident Management Team in Leadore. She will be producing an air quality report for the local community as well as provide information to the fire team about how smoke will affect fire activity and operations. Additionally, air quality information can be found online at Airnow.gov. They provide data to the public to communicate whether air quality is healthy or unhealthy for you. 

The Salmon Challis National Forest has a revised closure order in place to help protect firefighter and public safety.  Maps and additional information are available on the Alerts and Notices section of the SCNF website.  Risk to responders and public safety remain the highest priority for the incident management team.