Ross Fork Fire Daily Update               
September 10, 2022

Fire Information: Email: 2022.rossfork@firenet.gov       Phone:208-329-6044 daily from 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. 
Sawtooth National Forest Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sawtoothnationalforest

YouTube:https://youtu.be/Ll7iJz55hnIInciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8375

Containment: 2%

Cause: Lightning

 Acreage: 35, 601 Acres

Location: Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho

Fuel Type: Timber Litter/Timber/Short Grass

A community meeting will be held tonight, Saturday September 10, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. at Forest Service Park in Ketchum. If you are not able to attend in person, a livestream will be available on the forest’s Facebook page at the link above.

Cooler temperatures and low humidity provided favorable conditions for aggressive fire control actions across most of the fire area yesterday and are expected to do so again today. Crews will also work to complete a strategic “burnout” near the intersection of Highway 75 and Alturas Lake Road. The operation went well Friday and, when completed, should prevent further fire spread to the north and east in that area. A pocket of heat in the Smiley Creek community was suppressed yesterday to eliminate threats to the structures in that area. On the southern-most portion of the fire, crews are scouting contingency fire lines near the South Fork of the Boise River and Big Smoky Creek. While the fire has not moved to the south recently, fire managers want to be prepared for that possibility.

The Cherry Fire, which was discovered Thursday near Galena Summit, is less than a tenth of an acre and is contained. Structure protection is being completed around the Galena Lodge, a valued historic structure in this community.

The Ross Fork Fire has slowly moved into the Sawtooth Wilderness on the northwest side, but the predominant fire growth continues to be on the south and southeast sides, near Frenchman Creek and the headwaters of the Salmon River. Approximately, forty spot fires were found and suppressed yesterday in those areas, and crews will continue to look for and extinguish any additional heat sources today. Smoke limited air operations Friday and will do so again today. However, when conditions permit, helicopters will conduct water drops.

TRAFFIC AND DRIVING CONDITIONS: HWY 75 is subject to intermittent closures for public and firefighter safety. The latest updates on road closures can be found at https://511.idaho.gov/.

AIR QUALITY: Air quality is expected to be poor today in the Stanley and Wood River Valleys. For more information, please visit: https://www.airnow.gov

CLOSURES AND RESTRICTIONS: Closure order 0414-05-059 has been issued by the Sawtooth National Forest for areas surrounding the #RossForkFire on the Sawtooth National Recreation Area AND Fairfield Ranger District. Visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/sawtooth/alerts-notices for more information.

EVACUATIONS: The Blaine County Sheriff has placed the area surrounding Galena in “Set” evacuation status, meaning residents should be ready to leave on short notice. Pettit Lake Road, Cabin Creek Road, Smiley Creek, Sawtooth City and Alturas Lake remain in “GO” evacuation status, which means evacuate now. Updates from the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office can be found at https://www.blainesheriff.com/152/Sheriff or on the Blaine County Sheriff Facebook page.

TOTAL FIRE RESOURCES ASSIGNED:

Personnel

632,

Hand Crews

13,

Engines

48,

Helicopters

10

Visit our website at: www.fs.usda.gov/Sawtooth and on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/sawtoothnationalforest