rocky mountain wildfire roundup

Fires Consume 550,000 Acres in Idaho

By Matthew Frank, 7-20-07

The National Interagency Fire Center reported Friday that “dry weather will be the rule” for most of the West. And a Red Flag Warning is in effect for, well, pretty much all of the Rocky Mountains. 

On Thursday about 300,000 acres were burning in Idaho altogether. By Friday morning that number had jumped to 550,000 acres. The biggest of the 18 wildfires there is the 180,000-acre Rowland Fire along the Idaho-Nevada border near the small towns of Jarbidge, Nevada, and Murphy Hotsprings, both of which have been evacuated. Fueled by high winds, the fire grew more than 100,000 acres within a 12 hour period Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Elk Mountain Fire, also near the Idaho-Nevada border, grew from 25,000 acres Thursday to 160,000, which the fire camp attributes to “extreme fire behavior and lack of resources.” Fire managers are asking the public to stay clear of the Three Creek Highway, Salmon Falls Reservoir, and Roseworth Reservoir to allow crews to safely travel roads and for the safety of the public.

The Black Pine 2 Fire burning 11 miles southeast of Malta remains at about 73,000 acres, 90 percent contained.

Check InciWeb.org and the National Interagency Fire Center for the latest on the Tongue Complex and Chimney Complex Fires and the rest of the large fires burning in Idaho.

UTAH
In Utah, eight out-of-control fires had burned through roughly 90,000 by sunrise Friday, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

The highest priority fire is the Salt Creek, which had consumed more than 13,000 acres of sage, grass and juniper and moving north and east. About 25 homes in the Thousand Oaks subdivision were evacuated and all roads and campgrounds in the Mount Nebo Loop area were closed, according to the Tribune.

The Kimball Fire, which had been a lower priority for resource-strapped fire managers, the Tribune reported, more than doubled overnight Thursday and burned near State Road 138 on the east end of the Stansbury Mountains. It grew from 450 acres to well over 1,000 and was growing rapidly Friday morning.

One of Thursday’s new starts, the Kate Fire, has been contained at 130 acres while the other, the Monarch Fire jumped from a reported 600 acres Thursday to 17,000 by Friday morning. It was 50 percent contained.

Click here for the Salt Lake Tribune’s coverage; visit NIFC for a full rundown.

MONTANA
As predicted, stronger winds and lower humidity brought the Ahorn Fire, Montana’s biggest, burning the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the Lewis and Clark National Forest, back to life Thursday as the fire moved east, toward Gibson Reservoir.

Still, the fire only grew to a mapped 1,270 acres—100 acres more than Thursday morning’s mapping—slowed a little by the rain that hit the fire Wednesday night. The fire did throw spot fires north of the West Fork of the Sun River Thursday afternoon also started burning around Deadman Hill, which is just to the North of the end of Benchmark Road and is working it’s way down toward the Deer Creek drainage.

In the Wolf Creek area between Helena and Great Falls, the Little Wolf Creek Fire, ignited by lightning Tuesday night, has grown to 570 acres and forced the evacuation of about 100 families, the Great Falls Tribune reports.

The Pattengail Creek Fire burning 10 air miles northeast of Wisdom is now estimated at 3,090 acres. A Red Flag Warning has been issued for the fire area again Friday.  An upper level disturbance is moving through the area today and for the next couple of days promising to bring high winds and high temperatures and lower relative humidity levels. Increased fire activity is expected. No structures are considered threatened at this time and no evacuations have been ordered.

For the latest on the 6,214-acre Fool Creek Fire in the Bob Marshall Wilderness click here. And click here for a roundup of the rest of the fires burning in the state.

OREGON
In Oregon 12 fires are burning a total of more than 247,000 acres. Crews continue to make progress on the 137,000-acre Egley Complex Fire. It was 70 percent contained Friday morning. Numerous structures remain threatened.

The Monument Complex Fire five miles north of Monument blackened another 5,000 acres for a total of 35,000 by Friday morning. It was 20 percent contained. Moderate fire behavior in timber and grass was reported Thursday. Power lines and homes near Monument are threatened and the growth potential remains “extreme.”

The Juniper Reservoir Fire burning five miles west of Val is now mapped at 29,000 acres (reduction in acreage from 33,000 is due to more accurate mapping) and, as of Friday morning, was 35 percent contained. Structures remain threatened.

No new fires in Oregon were reported. Check NIFC for more.

WYOMING
It remains relatively quiet in Wyoming. The Salt Lick Fire was contained Thursday and all that’s popped up is the new 80-acre Granite Creek Fire burning in the Bridger-Teton National Forest’s Gros Ventre Wilderness.

For updates visit InciWeb.org and the National Interagency Fire Center.

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