Smoke was more visible
over the fire area today as crews utilized burnout operations along the
northeast fire perimeter near Jerusalem Road to the north of Porter Creek.
Burnout operations were conducted in order to remove fuel from the advancing
fire front and slow the potential spread of the fire. Fire crews will continue
burnout operations into the early evening taking advantage of the cooler
temperatures and higher humidity. The public may continue to see increased
smoke and haze into the early evening tonight, as they travel along the Highway
55 corridor. Smoke will diminish later as crews complete burnout operations and
return to fire camp for the night.
Crews also continued to improve
existing firelines while extinguishing hotspots with aerial support from water
dropping helicopters along both the northern and southern perimeter of the fire
today. This allowed managers to increase containment for the incident to
60 percent. Crews will continue to monitor the fire weather and adjust
suppression tactics to best meet the incident objectives.
Tomorrow, crews will
continue to mop up and patrol along the Highway 55 corridor using aerial
support and hose lays to extinguish any hotspots found along the fire
perimeter. Public traveling along the Highway 55 corridor can expect to see an
increase in fire personnel and vehicles as crews monitor and patrol the
fireline near mile marker 73 on Highway 55. The public is also reminded that
numerous hazards exist along Highway 55 including falling rock and debris
loosened by the fire. Drivers need to be aware of the possible hazards and
drive with caution.
The fire weather
forecast tomorrow calls for temperatures in the upper 90s coupled with single
digit humidity and light winds along the Payette River corridor. This
will increase the potential for fire starts so travelers are cautioned to be
extra vigilant.
