‘Such a busy summer’: Here’s the latest on wildfires, road closures in Central Idaho
Several wildfires are still burning in Central Idaho, including the large and uncontained Wapiti Fire, as well as the Middle Fork Complex, Boulder, Snag, Dollar and Wolf Creek fires.
Firefighters near the 79,000-acre Wapiti Fire were expected to face “near critical” conditions Wednesday, according to the day’s fire update. The fire’s behavior was expected to be “adverse and challenging,” the update said.
“I’ve never had such a busy summer,” Boise National Forest Supervisor Brandt Peterson said during a community meeting in Lowman on Tuesday evening. “This is as busy as we’ve been, and it’s been a really trying summer for I think, all of you, of course, and a lot of the folks that do this work.”
Here’s what’s happening at each fire.
Wapiti: The lightning-caused wildfire was reported on July 24 and has more than 800 personnel working to contain it. Residents in evacuation zone one and part of evacuation zone two near Stanley have been told to go. The rest of zone two, the casino zone and zone three are in “set” status, and zones four and five are in “ready” status, according to the Custer County Sheriff’s Office social media.
Idaho Highway 21 is closed from east of Lowman to Stanley, but Idaho Highway 75 through Ketchum is open. The Stanley Museum is closed, the Sawtooth Interpretive and Historical Association said on Facebook.
Middle Fork Complex: This complex consists of the Bulldog Fire, Nellie Fire and Anderson Fire, though on Aug. 12 the Nellie and Anderson fires merged, according to InciWeb. The blazes were ignited by lightning on Aug. 5.
The fires are just under 48,000 acres with 5% containment, according to a Wednesday Middle Fork Complex update. The complex is continuing to grow eastward, the update said. It also has over 800 personnel fighting the fires.
West Mountain fires: This encompasses the Boulder, Wolf Creek, Snag, Dollar and Goat fires, four of which are within 20 miles of Cascade. The Wolf Creek Fire is 5 miles west of Donnelly, but is almost contained (95%).
The Snag Fire reached a size of 27,000 acres but the rest are less than 3,000 acres. Fire activity Tuesday prompted the closure of Warm Lake Highway and the power corridor. The fire is still too close to the power lines, the Valley County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook on Wednesday, which means power will not be restored yet. Evacuation zones one and two are in “ready” status.
