Incident Publication

DIXIE FIRE:
On the northwest section, crews and heavy equipment continue to contain the fire west of Road 1190, working as close to the fire's edge as possible to minimize the fire footprint. Crews are also continuing to improve contingency fuel breaks, maintain pumps and hoses, and remove felled logs in the Comstock and Dixie areas. On the east flank, higher winds resulted in some smoke production near Noble Creek, but fire spread remained limited (around an acre of growth). Crews are working to contain areas of residual heat in this area, installing pumps, hose and sprinklers. Crews continued to observe no fire activity on the Salmon River along the southern perimeter; water-handling equipment in this area was backhauled or staged for future use if necessary. Several firefighters from this area will reposition and assist with operations on the north flank.

JUMBO FIRE:
Percent completion remains at 45%. Structure protection measures in the form of water-handling equipment (pumps, hose, and sprinkler kits) remain in the Concord and Oregon Butte Lookout areas. All equipment has been prepped for the predicted cold weather, and the two personnel previously on-site returned to the Incident Command Post. Fire managers will continue to monitor the fire's status and progression through aerial reconnaissance. The fire remains within the wilderness, with no active fire or smoke visible for several days.

WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR:
Following the chilly weather overnight, temperatures are expected to reach the upper 70s to low 80s this afternoon, with winds around 15 mph. Limited fire activity is expected again today. The warming trend will likely continue through much of the coming week, with record-setting temperatures in the 90s and lower relative humidity down to the 20s.

Fuel moisture remains higher due to the effects of recent weather conditions; fuels will need a period of drying before becoming available to burn again. As the weather gets warmer and drier, this drying will progress.

Utilizing existing areas of heat and expected fuel and weather conditions, fire behavior analysts are modeling possible areas of increased fire behavior. Results show some potential for increased fire activity near Comstock Creek/Mammoth Mountain and in the Noble Creek area. Models also suggest that suppression activities are expected to hold, with no impacts to structures and other values to be protected.

Fire: Idaho's Dixie Jumbo Complex is holding around 43,210 acres. The Storm Theater Complex grew slowly yesterday and is now 21,987 acres. The fires are moving slowly due to the cool moist weather. The National Weather Service forecast reports an increase in temperature and decrease in relative humidity mid to late week, a signal for fire personnel to be ready for fire behavior to pick up in the days ahead. Fire personnel continue detecting new lightning caused fires and are actively working on fire containment in the Outlook area today. 

Smoke: Today central Idaho will likely experience overall moderate air quality as smoke passes through the state from large and active fire in southwest Washington. The Lewistown area may experience USG (unhealthy for sensitive groups) in the morning, then improve to moderate after 11:00 am. Areas north of Lewiston (Moscow to Plummer) should see good air quality. Overnight Grangeville, Orofino, Kamiah, Cottonwood, Kooskia, Salmon and low areas nearby may experience USG smoke, but the air should clear up to moderate and good by mid morning. The fires in central Idaho will likely not add much smoke to the air as cooler temperatures are forecast through Tuesday. The https://fire.airnow.gov website is a helpful one stop tool to acquire fire and air quality information across the country. 

DIXIE FIRE:
On the northwest section, crews and heavy equipment continue to contain the fire west of Road 1190, working as close to the fire's edge as possible to minimize the fire footprint. Firefighters are searching for hot-spots and "mopping-up" throughout this area. Crews are also continuing to improve contingency fuel breaks, maintain pumps and hoses, and remove felled logs in the Comstock and Dixie areas. A chipper will process materials resulting from the fuel reduction work along the old wagon road into Dixie. On the east flank, crews are working to contain areas of residual heat, using pumps, hose, and sprinklers to soak the fuels and increase their moisture content. Crews continued to observe no fire activity on the Salmon River along the southern perimeter; six firefighters will remain in the river corridor to monitor activity. Crews and equipment will begin repairing fire lines within the burned footprint and installing water bars along perimeter lines to prevent erosion.

JUMBO FIRE:
Percent completion remains at 45%. Structure protection measures in the form of water-handling equipment (pumps, hose, and sprinkler kits) remain in the Concord and Oregon Butte Lookout areas. The two personnel previously on-site returned to the Incident Command Post. Fire managers will continue to monitor the fire's status and progression through aerial reconnaissance. No active fire has been observed for several days.
 
WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR:
Temperatures reached the low 70s yesterday; slightly warmer conditions are forecast for today. Winds from the west could gust up to 15 mph. A warming and drying trend will continue this week, with near record-setting temperatures by Friday (90s to low 100s). Relative humidity could dip to the upper teens to low 20s.
 
Fuel moisture remains higher due to the effects of recent weather conditions. Good overnight relative humidity recovery has resulted in shorter burn windows during the day. Fuels will continue to dry out as the weather gets warmer and drier, requiring several days before becoming available to burn and reach critical fire behavior conditions. 

The Idaho County Sheriff's Office has lifted all evacuation orders associated with the Dixie Fire (effective at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, August 10th). The closure orders issued by the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest and Payette National Forest remain in effect.

DIXIE FIRE:
On the northwest section, crews and heavy equipment have completed fuel breaks to contain the fire west of Road 1190. Firefighters are searching for hot-spots and "mopping-up" throughout this area. Crews are also continuing to improve contingency fuel breaks, maintain pumps and hoses, and remove felled logs in the Comstock and Dixie areas. A chipper will process materials resulting from the fuel reduction work along the old wagon road into Dixie, and a mower will continue to clear fuels on the road to the old Dixie Guard Station. On the east flank, crews are working to contain areas of residual heat, using pumps, hose, and sprinklers to soak the fuels and increase their moisture content. Crews continued to observe no fire activity on the Salmon River along the southern perimeter, and plan to remove equipment and personnel from the area over the course of the week. Crews and equipment will also begin repairing fire lines within the burned footprint and installing water bars along perimeter lines to prevent erosion.
 
JUMBO FIRE: 
Percent completion remains at 45%. Structure protection measures in the form of water-handling equipment (pumps, hose, and sprinkler kits) remain in the Concord and Oregon Butte Lookout areas. The two personnel previously on-site returned to the Incident Command Post.
 
WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR:
Temperatures reached the upper 70s yesterday, with 5-10 mph winds. The warming trend will continue today and throughout the week, with temperatures reaching the 90s and relative humidity dipping to the upper teens to low 20s by Saturday. A weak disturbance, with a small chance of precipitation, enters the area on Sunday. Fuels will continue to dry out and become available to burn as the weather gets warmer and drier, but critical fire weather conditions are not anticipated this week.
 
A reconnaissance helicopter flight yesterday saw very limited smoke production across the fire areas. Small areas of smoke were observed on the southwest section of the fire near Mammoth Mountain and Comstock Creek, as well as in the northeast section near Mallard Creek. Visible smoke on the Jumbo fire was interior to the perimeter. Most smoke present in the vicinity of the Dixie and Jumbo fires is drift smoke from fires in Oregon and southwest Washington.

DIXIE FIRE:
On the northwest section, crews and heavy equipment have completed fuel breaks to contain the fire west of Road 1190. Firefighters are searching for hot-spots and "mopping-up" throughout this area. Crews are also continuing to improve contingency fuel breaks, maintain pumps and hoses, and remove felled logs in the Comstock and Dixie areas. A chipper will process materials resulting from the fuel reduction work along the old wagon road into Dixie, and a mower completed clearing fuels on the road to the old Dixie Guard Station. On the east flank, crews are working to contain areas of residual heat, using pumps, hose, and sprinklers to soak the fuels and increase their moisture content. Fire managers will survey this area, as the fire continues to back slowly down towards the road. Crews continue to observe no fire activity on the Salmon River along the southern perimeter and plan to complete the removal of excess equipment. Personnel will be removed from the area along the river at the end of today's operational period. Crews and equipment will also begin repairing fire lines within the burned footprint and installing water bars along perimeter lines to prevent erosion.

Helicopters assisted with the report of a new fire in the Lenore area.

JUMBO FIRE:
Percent completion remains at 45%. Structure protection measures in the form of water-handling equipment (pumps, hose, and sprinkler kits) remain in the Concord and Oregon Butte Lookout areas. The two personnel previously on-site returned to the Incident Command Post. The fire will be monitored by aerial resources.

WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR:
Temperatures reached the upper 80s yesterday, with 10-15 mph winds. A warming trend will continue through the end of the week. Winds will be north/northwest with gusts to 20 mph. Afternoon relative humidity will drop to around 20-25%, with lower values in the teens at times. By Saturday, high temperatures will rise into the 90s and low 100s. By Monday temperatures will drop back into the 70s and 80s with the potential for showers and thunderstorms.

Thin clouds and the lack of drift smoke resulted in clear skies yesterday; scattered heat was observed along the perimeter on the east flank along the ridge. Fire behavior analysts estimate the fire to be moving at approximately 500 feet/day in this area. Fuels will continue to dry out and become available to burn as the weather gets warmer and drier.

DIXIE FIRE:
On the northwest section, crews and heavy equipment have completed fuel breaks to contain the fire west of Road 1190. Firefighters searching for hot-spots and "mopping-up" throughout this area have found little to no heat over the last several days. On the east flank, crews are monitoring areas of heat near Noble Creek. Water handling equipment is in place to continue to soak fuels. Crews continue to observe no fire activity on the Salmon River along the southern perimeter and have completed the removal of excess equipment. Personnel will depart the area this morning. A mower has completed clearing fuels on the road to the old Dixie Guard Station. Crews will continue to maintain pumps and hoses and remove felled logs in the Comstock and Dixie areas over the next few days. A chipper will process materials resulting from the fuel reduction work along the old wagon road into Dixie. Crews and heavy equipment no longer needed are demobilizing to their home units or to other incidents in the area.

Crews assisted the local Forest Service District firefighters with reports of new starts just west of Dixie and near Comstock Creek. Helicopters from the Dixie helibase assisted ground crews with bucket drops.

JUMBO FIRE:
Percent completion remains at 45%. Structure protection measures in the form of water-handling equipment (pumps, hose, and sprinkler kits) remain in the Concord and Oregon Butte Lookout areas. The two personnel previously on-site returned to the Incident Command Post. The fire will be monitored by aerial resources.

WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR:
Warmer and drier weather will continue today and Saturday. Temperatures are expected to reach the low 90s, with afternoon relative humidity dropping into the mid-teens. On Sunday, gusty, erratic winds are expected, with some potential for precipitation. Cooler, moister weather may follow early next week.

As fuels continue to dry and become available to burn, more active fire behavior may be observed in some areas. The area near Noble Creek is currently the most active portion of the fire, particularly on south-facing slopes, and is backing slowly down toward the road. Some isolated torching of trees may occur in this area, given the large amount of standing dead trees.

Smoke: Idaho today, from the I-90 corridor south to the southern edge of Idaho County, will experience smoke at various levels, from Moderate to Very Unhealthy. From Plummer south to Grangeville the smoke may reach levels that are more than Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) all the way up to levels that are Very Unhealthy. Other areas in the Clearwater River Basin may experience moderate to Unhealthy levels of smoke. The early mornings are the time when the air quality will likely be at it's worse. An hour or so, either side of noon, is when the air quality might be only moderately smoky. 
 
SPECIAL STATEMENT: This afternoon the air quality in some of the Outlook area is degrading more than anticipated. Because of low winds in the valleys smoke is concentrating from wildfires locally and out of state. Air Quality equipment is currently showing Air Quality Index (AQI) ranging from the "Unhealthy" to "Very Unhealthy". The AQI in and around these areas may degrade to "Hazardous" especially, in the wee hours of the morning when it's more likely that wildfire smoke sinks into the valleys. Areas that have already experienced "Very Unhealthy" are those near Plummer, Moscow, Lewiston, Lapwai, Reubens, Orofino, Nezperce and Grangeville.   

DIXIE FIRE:
Joe Sampson's Northern Rockies Incident Management Team #5 will transfer command of the Dixie and Jumbo Fires to a local fire management organization with Mike Blinn as Incident Commander, effective 6 a.m. on Sunday, August 15. The teams will work side by side throughout the day today to ensure a seamless transition of duties. This will be the last update from Northern Rockies Team #5. 

New acreage totals reflect more accurate mapping over a period of two days, as last night's infrared mapping flight was the first one received in 48 hours.
 
On the northwest section, crews and heavy equipment have completed fuel breaks to contain the fire west of Road 1190. Firefighters searching for hot-spots and "mopping-up" throughout this area have found little to no heat over the last several days. On the east flank, crews are monitoring areas of heat near Noble Creek. Water handling equipment is in place to continue to soak fuels. Crews will continue to maintain pumps and hoses and remove felled logs in the Comstock and Dixie areas over the next several days. A chipper is processing materials resulting from fuels reduction work. Crews continue to observe no fire activity on the southern perimeter along the river. Crews and heavy equipment no longer needed are demobilizing to their home units or to other incidents in the area.
 
JUMBO FIRE:
Percent completion remains at 45%. Structure protection measures in the form of water-handling equipment (pumps, hose, and sprinkler kits) remain in the Concord and Oregon Butte Lookout areas. The two personnel previously on-site returned to the Incident Command Post. A small area of heat was observed by satellite on the southwest corner of the fire. The fire will continue to be monitored by aerial resources.

WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR:
Warmer and drier weather will continue today through Monday. Temperatures are expected to reach the 90s, with afternoon relative humidity dropping into the mid-teens and poor overnight humidity recovery. Increased amounts of smoke from fires in Washington and British Columbia are likely. On Tuesday, lower temperatures and higher humidity are expected, with a low chance of precipitation, as a cold front pushes through the area.
 
As fuels continue to dry and become available to burn, more active fire behavior may be observed in some areas. The area near Noble Creek is currently the most active portion of the fire, particularly on south-facing slopes, and is backing slowly down toward the road. 

Smoke
In Idaho today, from the I-90 corridor south to the south western edge of Idaho County, we may experience smoke that is Unhealthy to Very Unhealthy. The worst smoke will likely be near Orofino and Kamiah between noon and sunset; it could reach levels from Very Unhealthy to Hazardous, though the worst should not last more than an hour or so. From Plummer south to Nezperce and Riggins, hazardous levels of smoke may be present at times as the smoke concentrations are forecast to increase through Sunday. Southeastern Idaho county will probably have smoke in the range of "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” with periods of “Unhealthy” smoke. Smoke