Kamiah, Idaho, August 30, 2015
– Many of the widespread wildfires on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests
made significant runs yesterday, pushed by gusty winds and low relative
humidities. Of note, Tepee Springs Fire
spread an estimated 5 ½ miles in a few hours.
Consequently, lands managed by the Nez Perce-National Forest outside of the Palouse
Ranger District have been closed to public access. The action was taken as a precautionary measure
during a period of extreme fire activity.
Prior to the wind event Saturday,
the Forests had detected 275 fires which had burned across more than 100,000
acres.
Suppression activities for fires
on national forest system lands had been limited after an August 10 lightning
storm ignited numerous fires across north-central Idaho, many close to homes
and communities. Since that time, firefighting
personnel and equipment have been concentrated in these areas with private
property and homes.
Consequently, Nez Perce-Clearwater
National Forest managers have had few firefighting resources to actively fight
backcountry fires, many of which have grown large very quickly. It is expected that more fires exist. Firefighting resources available to the Forests
have concentrated efforts on initial attack of new fire starts, monitoring
fires, and point protection for the Forests’ lookouts, cabins and pack bridges
ahead of advancing fires.
Precipitation across the Forest
Saturday was spotty, ranging from none on the Salmon River (where temperatures
were in the 100s with gusty winds) to .16 on the Palouse Ranger District. Forest managers expect very little of that
precipitation actually reached the ground.
The precipitation was a season slowing event, but definitely not a
season ending event.
After scattered showers today, the
weather is expected to be warm and dry early in the week. Forest managers will monitor conditions and
make changes to the Forest closure when it is safe to do so. Forest managers continue to work with partner
agencies and permittees in the implementation of the closure.
The safety of the public and
firefighters continues to be the Forests’ number one priority.
Closure notices related to fire
activity are posted at http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/nezperceclearwater/home. Click on the
“Fire Information” icon at the top of the page.
