| Update on local area wildland fires
Midnight Fire
Final update unless conditions change
August 8, 2023 Location: Forest Service Road (FSR) #284 (Elk City Wagon Road) 1 mile east of China Point, 3 miles Northwest of Pilot Knob near Mountain House Site Start Date: 7/10/23 Cause: Lightning Size: 179 acres Completion/Containment: 50% Total Personnel: 96 Engines: 2 Dozers: 2 Masticators: 2 Helicopters: 0 Water Tender: 2 Crews: 1 *Some forest resources are not counted in total personnel. CURRENT SITUATION No new fire growth has occurred, and containment of the Midnight Fire remains at 50%. Fire managers and personnel continue to patrol the area as periodic lightning has occurred over the past few days. The team is dissembling the Incident Command Post as resources continue to depart. *This will be the final daily update unless the situation changes. For current information, please go to Inciweb at: www.inciweb.nwcg.gov PLANNED ACTIONS The Wyoming Type 3 team is transitioning with a local Type 4 IC Wednesday August 9th. Fire managers will continue to take appropriate action based on a variety of factors including complexity, fire behavior and weather, safety remains the number one priority. Contingency line work will continue, but due to rain on recent burn scars, crews will also clean fallen rocks, downed trees and keep the roads assessable for safety. WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR A very low chance of isolated lightening at the wildfire this afternoon. Otherwise, partly cloudy with afternoon humidity drying only near 50 percent. The influx of moisture continues to decrease fire behavior at the Midnight Fire. AIR QUALITY INFORMATION For more information on air quality, visit www.airnow.gov CLOSURES AND SPECIAL MESSAGES Wyoming Type 3 IC Blake Creagan and Team would like to extend its thanks to the community, Nez-Perce Tribe, and the Nez-Perce Clearwater National Forest for their support during the Midnight Fire. The team enjoyed learning about the history of this breathtaking forest. The resilience of the land, the forest and community will be valued as the team moves forward. Please travel with caution as dense patches of fog have been observed. Debris may be on roads due to heavy rain and expect slick conditions with mud. There are currently no road closures in place. Motorists are encouraged to avoid the area around Peasley Creek Drainage Road if possible due to equipment traffic and poor visibility. Heavy equipment traffic is expected to be heavy along 1853 Road and 648. Little Bear Fire
Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest
Powell Ranger District Fire Information Line - 208-935-6134 August 7, 2023 Location: half mile northeast from Bear Mountain Lookout, about one mile south of Highway 12, and less than one and a half miles southeast from Jerry Johnson Campground Start Date: 07/03/2023 Cause: Lightning **Size: 1,646 acres Completion of Objectives: 20% Total Personnel: 14 Engines: Helicopters: Hand Crews: 1 Wildland Fire Use Module CURRENT SITUATION Minimal change since last report. Weather conditions continue to prevent any IR flights from getting better estimated acreages. The influx of moisture continues to decrease fire behavior. Current estimates remain at approximately 1,646 acres. The fire is still cleaning up dead, down logs that have fallen since the Freezeout Fire that burned in 2012. The Little Bear Fire was detected on July 3rd in steep and rugged terrain, with high density of snags from the 2012 fire. Structure protection is in place with a remote start pressure pump for sprinkler protection on Warm Springs Pack Bridge and fuel mitigation around Bear Mountain Lookout. Fire managers and personnel continue to assess the area for further protection measures. WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR Cooler temperatures in the upper-80s remain until Thursday, August 10, 2023, and then begin creeping into the lower 90s starting Friday. Shower activity remains today, with a 15% increase in probability of excessive rainfall. Please be advised of any flood watches in the area, especially in burn scars and flood-prone areas. Isolated thunderstorms are again possible Tuesday producing brief heavy rain. A cold front on Wednesday will bring more chances for rain along with increasing westerly winds. Fire behavior has decreased, with flame lengths around 1-3 feet. CLOSURES AND SPECIAL MESSAGES There are now official area and trail closures for the Warm Springs area. The closure includes the area generally following the land south of the Lochsa River within a quarter mile of the eastern shore of Warm Springs Creek, below the confluence with Cooperation Creek in Section 20. There are additional trail closures for the National Forest Service Trails (NFST) #49, Warm Springs Trail from its junction with Highway 12 to the junction with Trail #213; NFST #44, Cooperation Trail from its junction with the Warm Springs Trail #49 to the Top of the ridge approximately 6 miles East Southeast; and NFST #49-A, stock trail from its junction with the Cooperation Trail #44 to the junction with the Warm Springs Trail #49. Please visit InciWeb for current closure maps for the Little Bear Fire: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/idncf-little-bear-fire. Please be aware that inversion-related smoke may impact Highway 12. Fire Update – Elkhorn Fire, August 8, 2023
McCall, Idaho – An Unstaffed Aerial System (drone)
team plan to conduct infrared operations of the Trout Creek area of the
fire today. The fire acreage is estimated at 24,039 acres and is 12%
contained. Some operations remain suspended on the Salmon River
corridor due to mudslides and debris in the river system.
Crews are using point protection strategy in the fire perimeter. Point protection strategy is a wildfire response strategy, which protects specific assets or highly valued resources from the wildfire without directly halting the continued spread of the wildfire. The strategy takes into account exposure to firefighters, values at risk, impacts to area user groups, and wilderness values. The selected point protection strategy was determined to be the best balance of the protection of values and firefighter safety. Rain fell on the fire for the third consecutive day, assisting wildland firefighter efforts on the fire. A weak, upper-level ridge will be transiting the area today. A lingering mid-to-upper-level moisture that will lead to a 15 percent chance of rain in the afternoon. Starting in the middle of the week a drying trend will move across the fire area. The US Forest Service Nez Perce-Clearwater, and Payette National Forests issued the Elkhorn fire area, roads and trails closure order #01-17-05-23-003,https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/nezperceclearwater/alerts-notices/?aid=82169. The closure area spans both sides of the Salmon River but excludes the Salmon River Wild and Scenic Corridor below the high-water line. Boaters are required to stop at Hancock Campsite on river-left at river mile 26.1 to receive further instruction from a Forest Service representative regarding passing through and camping in the area of the Elkhorn fire. Camping, recreating (i.e., picnic, bathroom breaks and beach walking) and stopping through the area of fire activity is allowed with some exceptions. Upon leaving Hancock Camp there will be no stopping until boaters pass Magpie Creek Camp. After passing Magpie Creek Camp, boaters will be allowed to camp and recreate on a First Come, First Served basis everywhere except: Upper Allison, Allison, Lower Allison, Whitewater Camp, Campbell’s Ferry and China Bar. Upon leaving China Bar, there are no camping restrictions connected to the Elkhorn Fire. An Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place. All aircraft (including drones) not assigned to the fire are required to remain out of the TFR area. Visit Inciweb for information on wildfires at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov, and follow the Payette National Forest on Twitter at @PayetteForest, and on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/payettenational forest |
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