Ketchum’s Castle Rock Fire Reaches Bald Mountain

By Guest Writer, 8-27-07

	Caption: Big Sikorski helicopters flew water to the top of Timber Gulch's southern canyon wall Sunday afternoon.

The Castle Rock Fire near Ketchum roared inside the Bald Mountain Ski Area at Broadway Bowl Sunday afternoon. Firefighters at the night shift briefing Sunday evening said the several cords of firewood piled just southwest of the top of Broadway Bowl is now a pile of ash. And while the fire crept up close to Sun Valley’s Seattle Ridge Lodge, Sun Valley Company personnel kept it at bay with the company’s snowmaking system.

That said, fire managers called it a productive day of firefighting. The burn area grew to 41,091 acres Sunday, which slipped the percent containment back to 31%. A total 1,630 people are involved in combating the Castle Rock Fire, which thus far has destroyed no houses and seriously injured no one.

Wind was the culprit Sunday, pushing the southern edge of the fire ever closer to Highway 75 and leading fire managers to believe it may reach Highway 75 in the next couple of days. It did reach the permit area of the Bald Mountain Ski Area at its southwest corner, where it came close to the Seattle Ridge Lodge but Sun Valley snowmaking technicians turned their water supplies on it and successfully defended the lodge. We don’t know whether the snowmakers were able to use the big squirt guns Sinclair Oil’s firefighters lent them on Friday, but they got the job done.

The extent of travel into Baldy’s famous bowls is unclear. Few trees stand on the southernmost couple of bowls – Broadway Face and Sigi’s Bowl- which appear to have been burnt.

No new evacuations were ordered Sunday and some were downgraded Monday.

Evacuations are as follows:

Mandatory evacuation order:

• All residences north of Greenhorn Gulch and south of the St. Luke’s Hospital Bridge on the west side of Highway 75. Golden Eagle and Greenhorn Gulch residences are included in the area.
• Warm Springs Road west of Gates Road; Warm Springs Road west of Gates Road continues under mandatory evacuation and is closed to all traffic.

Voluntary Evacuation: Entry and Traffic is limited to residents only. Residents with livestock should not return animals to voluntary areas.

• All residences south of Greenhorn Gulch and north of Ohio Gulch Road on the West side of Highway 75 (Starweather and Hidden Hollow).
• All residences north of Ohio Gulch and south of St. Luke’s Hospital Bridge on the east side of Highway 75 (Heatherlands through River’s Edge Subdivisions).
• All residences accessible by East Fork Rd.
• To the west of Highway 75 north of Ketchum City limits to Fox Creek (mile marker 134).

Advisory: Entry is allowed and you are not being asked to leave your homes at this time. Those with livestock should consider or continue alternative shelter locations.

• All neighborhoods accessible by Deer Creek Rd. (Deer Creek, Zinc Spur, Cottonwoods, and Woodland Meadows).
• West Ketchum residents (defined as west of Atkinson Park and west of the bike path. This does not include Hemingway Elementary).
• All residences accessible by Warm Springs Rd.

  For more on the Castle Rock fire and regular updates, check back with SunValleyOnline.com.

  [End of article]