Fire managers will provide an
update and answer questions at a community meeting tonight at the Lowman
Emergency Services Building, located 7 miles east of Lowman. The meeting starts
at 7 p.m.
The fire grew to the north and east yesterday, adding more than
6,000 acres for a total size of 48,350 acres.
Containment is now 36 percent.
Resources are rotating out as they reach the end of their assignment and
are being replaced. There are currently 1,497 people on the fire. This includes 44 crews, 10
helicopters, 48 engines, 8 dozers, 14 watertenders, and 5 masticators.
Hotshot crews took over where heavy
equipment ran into rocky terrain on Burns Ridge and started building line down
into the South Fork of the Payette River to prevent the fire from moving into
the Hole in the Wall area and toward Lowman. The fire edged northward in the
upper Rock Creek drainage, with spotting ahead of the fire. East of Highway 21,
the fire continued to burn northward, forcing firefighters to pull back from
the dozer line along Banner Ridge. Fire managers reallocated these resources to
structure protection in Lowman. On the northeast side, the fire burned into the
Pikes Fork and Crooked River drainages. On the southern flank, firefighters
held and mopped up line from Pilot Peak down to Highway 21, and along Sunset
Lookout Road, after successful burnouts Monday night. Southwest winds helped
keep the south flank in check. Firefighters again patrolled the contained west
portion of the fire. A cold front moved across the fire area last night,
bringing strong northwest winds. Aviation resources flew throughout the day,
delivering water and retardant to slow fire growth.
Slightly cooler temperatures and
northwest winds should aid firefighters attempting to prevent the fire from
burning northward to Lowman. Hotshot crews will work to complete containment
line from Burns Ridge down to the South Fork of the Payette River. If conditions
permit, they plan to secure the line with a burnout this evening. On the
eastern flank, crews will attempt to use previous fire scars and natural
features to check fire growth. Mop-up will continue on the southern flank and
on other contained portions of the fire. In addition to the main Incident
Command Post in Idaho City, camps have been established in Garden Valley and
Lowman to reduce travel time for firefighters driving to and from the fire
line. The next low pressure system is expected to arrive Friday, bringing the
chance of thunderstorms and dry lightning.
The Skyline yurt, previously
reported as destroyed, actually survived. The Stargaze yurt also survived.
Whispering Pines yurt has been destroyed. The Rocky Ridge, Elkhorn and Banner
yurts have not yet been reconnoitered.
Drones
are not allowed in, near or around a wildfire area
IF YOU FLY, WE CAN’T. PLEASE DO
NOT FLY DRONES IN OR NEAR THE FIRE AREA.
The area closure order for the
fire can be viewed online at http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/boise/alerts-notices and
at inciweb.nwcg.gov.
Information is also available at https://www.facebook.com/Pioneer-Fire-682201165260518/
