Kamiah, Idaho, August 31, 2015
– Cooler temperatures and showers slowed the growth of most of the Forests’
fires on Sunday. Precipitation varied
from trace amounts on the southern districts to .7 near Pierce. Most units also experienced lightning. With warming and drying predicted today and
tomorrow, the weather change was a season slowing event, but not a season
ending event.
Concerns about public safety due
to the explosive growth of numerous large fires spread across the Nez
Perce-Clearwater National Forests prompted a public closure of the Forests,
with the exception of the Palouse Ranger District, late Saturday. That closure remains in effect and is being
evaluated daily.
To date, the Forests have detected
277 fires which have burned across more than 111,500 acres.
The following is a summary of the
major complexes and fires burning across the Nez Perce-Clearwater National
Forests which are not assigned to incident management teams.
South Zone (Salmon River and Red River
Ranger Districts)
Name: Red River Complex
Location: South of Elk City, Idaho
Started: August 17, 2015 Cause: Lightning
Total Acreage: 31,800 acres Containment: 0% Contained
Fires Originally within Red River Complex: 6 fires
Active Fires within the Complex:
Slaughter 100 acres, Lone Park and Crown (combined) 26500 acres,
Rattlesnake 1500 acres, Noble Fire 3200 acres, Little Green Fire 1375 acres.
Major Events: The Crown and
Lone Park Fires have become well established north of the Magruder Road #468
and are impacting the road. They have
merged with Little Green. The District
is working with the Selway Complex incident management team to manage these
fires.
The Tepee Springs Fire crossed the Salmon River Saturday and has spread
across an estimated 12,000 acres of land managed by the Nez Perce-Clearwater
National Forests. Updates regarding this
fire are posted on www.inciweb.org. Information can be obtained by calling
877-683-5560 or sending an email to payettefireinformation@gmail.com.
Central Zone (Lochsa-Powell and Moose Creek Ranger Districts)
Name: Lochsa South Complex
Location: South of Lochsa River from Warm Springs Creek
to the Selway River
Started: August 15, 2015 Cause: Lightning
Total Acreage: 5535 acres Containment: 0% Contained
Fires Originally within Lochsa South Complex: 12
Active Fires within the Complex:
Sponge Fire 3000 acres, Grit Fire 400 acres, Lone Knob Fire 400 acres,
Fire Creek 400 acres, Air Strip Fire 980 acres.
Major Events: Fires received
light, spotty precipitation. Structure
protection continues for Wilderness Gateway Campground and outfitter area, the
Fish Lake airstrip and cabin, and Gold Meadows and Horsecamp cabins.
Name: Wilderness Complex
Location: Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness (much of the
Moose Creek Ranger District)
Started: August 4, 2015 Cause: Lightning
Total Acreage: 18115 acres
Fires Originally within the Wilderness Complex: 8
Active Fires within the Complex:
Roll Creek 7800 acres, Rock Point 250 acres, Meeker 2400 acres, Baily
1500 acres, Army Mule Fire 5400 acres, Wahoo 650 acres, Wahoo Fire 650 acres.
Major Events: Fires received
light, spotty precipitation. Point
protection continues for Wilderness cabins, pack bridges and lookouts.
North Zone (Palouse and North Fork Ranger Districts)
Name: Larkin Complex Location: Roughly 30 airline
miles NE of Pierce
Started: August 17, 2015 Cause: Lightning
Total Acreage: 4990 acres Containment: 0% Contained
Fires Originally within the Complex (including Wolf Pack
Fires): 14
Active Fires within the Complex:
Snow Creek Fire 2300 acres, Wolf Pack Fire 980 acres, and Heather Fire
1370 acres, Minnesaka 225, and Roaring 100.
Major Events: Complex has been assigned to a local incident
management team. No update available this morning.
Name: Scurvy Mountain Fire Location: 28 miles ENE of Pierce, Idaho
Started: August 21, 2015 Cause: Lightning
Total Acreage: 390 acres Containment: 0% contained
Major Events: This fire has
been assigned to a local incident management team. No update available this morning.
Due to public safety concerns,
all lands managed by the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests are closed to
human entry, except the Palouse Ranger District. This closure and fire information is posted
at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/nezperceclearwater/home. Click on the “Fire Information” icon at the
top of the page.
