DATE:
August 27, 2017 7:30 p.m.
CONTACT:
Kelsey Griffee, 208-521-8709
Deer Park Fire
Twitter @IdahoFireInfo
#DeerParkFire
Start
Date: 8/25/2017 at 12:30
p.m.
Location
and Jurisdiction: West
of Menan Butte and north of Deer Park, 12 miles west of Rexburg, Idaho on BLM
Cause: Human, under investigation
Fire
Size: 17,588 acres
Percent
Contained: 65% contained,
estimated containment August 28, 2017 at 8 p.m.
Structures
Threatened: No structures
are threatened.
Fuels and Terrain: Grass and brush
Fire Behavior: Fire activity once again picked up in
the afternoon driving the fire north, but at the time of this release fire activity
is being reported as minimal and smoldering. There is still some isolated
torching of unburned vegetation within the fire perimeter.
Fire
Crews/Resources: 14 engines, 4 dozers, 3 water tenders, and the Sawtooth
Hotshots (115 firefighters). Multiple air tankers and 2 helicopters assisted
ground resources in securing the fire perimeter today.
Evacuations: No evacuations at
this time.
Closures: The gun range, Unified Sportsmen’s Club, off
of Hwy 33 and west of Menan Butte remains closed to the public, it is being
used by firefighters as the incident command post.
Summary: Firefighters made substantial progress today
reaching 65% containment. This is in large part due to widening dozer line and retardant
line around the fire perimeter. These tactics were tested this afternoon when
winds picked up in the afternoon and drove the fire north again. The tactics
worked and now fire activity has died down. Expect to still see smoke and
flames from burning vegetation in the fire’s interior. Fire managers still
expect full containment by the end of shift Monday, August 28.
