Protecting Ross Creek Cedars
Firefighters are installing sprinklers and other fire protection measures to keep from damaging this majestic grove of old growth cedar.
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Clark Fork Complex Wildfire update - Saturday, August 29
Includes Bull Lake and Ross Creek Cedars areas south of Troy
by Idaho Panhandle and Kootenai National Forests
August 29, 2015
Contact: Public Information Officers: Glenda Scott, Bob MacGregor, Peri Suenram
Phone: 406-847-9974 or 406-827-0731
What: Clark Fork Complex (numerous fires)
Cause: Lightning
Location: N. Idaho and NW Montana, Nearby Towns include Noxon, MT and Clark Fork, ID
Jurisdiction: Idaho Panhandle National Forests (IPNF) and Kootenai National Forest (KNF)
The Northern Rockies Wildland Fire Management Team has assumed command of all fires in the Napoleon and Clark Fork Complexes and will manage them as the Clark Fork Complex under the command of Diane Hutton.
The Clark Fork Complex is a collection of the following fires:
Scotchman Peak (IPNF): 2057 acres Whitetail (IPNF): 1734 acres
Sawtooth (KNF): 2158 acres Marten Creek (IPNF): 6 acres
Napoleon (KNF): 8499 acres Government (KNF): 391 acres
Acreages above are the same as Friday due to the lack of an Infra-red flight on Saturday morning.
•A Red Flag Warning for High Winds on Saturday from 11:00am to 8:00pm•
Yesterday’s Activities: Cool and cloudy conditions with scattered rain showers kept the Clark Fork Complex fires in check on Friday. Operations personnel flew over the Marten Creek Fire and saw no smokes at all. Equipment working along the 332 Road on the Whitetail Fire pushed their road improvements to the east all the way to the intersection with the 332A Road. A third Hot-shot crew, this one from the Bitterroot National Forest, increased the horsepower building hand-lines and mopping up down both the east and west flanks of the fire. Logging equipment moved cut logs down the road to the west, thereby eliminating them as fuel. The removal of logs was also on-going at the base of the Scotchman Peak Fire where trucks under the command of Division Supervisor John Olson finished the elimination of fuels from the contingency line. There was a significant amount of interior torching within the Scotchman Peak perimeter as temperatures stayed warm in the higher elevations early Friday morning. Crews started the construction of a contingency line ahead of the Sawtooth Fire along the west side of Highway 56. A burn-out along the north edge of the Napoleon Fire was completed to the West Fork of Dry Creek; the crews will now wait for the fire to burn down to the line and ensure it there are no spots to the north. The hose-lay that follows the Pillick Ridge Trail from Highway 56 to the Gin Gully slop-over held on Friday. The fire in Gin Gully did not make substantial movement to the south. Helicopters were finally able to fly as the smoke from the last few days rose into the upper atmosphere. The heli-base at the Amber Bear Resort was used for the first time during a mission to change solar panels on a radio repeater at the Star Mountain Lookout. Overhead personnel from Canada arrived at camp to assist in managing the fire; they are distinctive in their orange fire gear and are a welcome addition to the firefighting effort. A contractor journeying from morning briefing to the fire-line hit a deer along Highway 200 but no injuries (other than the deer fatality) occurred due to safe speeds they were traveling.
Today’s Planned Actions: Saturday will be a critical day for firefighters. A cold front will pass across the fire area at approximately 11:00 am, winds preceding and following the passage may be accompanied by gusts of 30 to 40 mph on the ridgetops and unsheltered areas. Winds will begin from the southeast and swing to the southwest as the front passes. The strongest winds will occur in valleys aligned southwest to northeast and on unsheltered areas with west and southwest exposures. The winds will be considerably less in timbered areas and in sheltered valleys. Positives from the weather forecast are that the skies will be cloudy, the temperatures will be less than previous days, humidity will be elevated and moister conditions, including a good chance of wetting rain, will be following the cold front passage. The Fire Behavior Specialist has looked at the potential for fire growth across the complex and developed the following forecasts for how the individual fires will react to this wind event. The Marten Creek Fire should stay within established fire lines. A large part of the Whitetail Fire is sheltered from the winds but firefighters should keep an eye on the west side of the fire where it could make a move up the exposed Buckskin drainage toward the Buckskin Saddle. The Scotchman Peak Fire should continue to blow back onto itself and should not see any large fire growth. On Napoleon the fires on the south flank in Blacktail and Gin Creek drainages should be relatively protected from the winds as will the most of the fire-line along the Highway 56 corridor. The Sawtooth fire has a few spots on the north side of Ross Creek that have the potential to make a substantial run given favorable wind speed and direction. The Government Fire could see growth to the east but that would be away from structures along Highway 56. Firefighters will use the early morning hours to button up lines before the frontal passage. Fire managers want to make sure crews and equipment are not in front of the fires when the winds hit as firefighter and public safety remain the premier objective at all times. A request for a heavy (largest water carrying capability) helicopter will be made on Saturday morning to try and knock down fire activity on the Whitetail Fire prior to the weather event and reduce the time that the winds are blowing across hot areas. Fire managers will assess fire locations on Saturday night and adjust future strategy accordingly, the weather forecast after Saturday is highly favorable for firefighting efforts
Evacuations: A Stage 1 pre-evacuation is in effect for all residences along the Highway 56 corridor south of and including Angel Island, along the east and west shore of Bull Lake from mile marker 14.5 to mile marker 20.5 on Highway 56, to include all residences in the Bull Lake Estates and Wilderness View Estates. A Level 1 Evacuation Order is in effect for an area in Bonner County, Idaho. This area is bounded by the State Line on the east, River Road (south of the Clark Fork River) on the north, the main fork of Johnson Creek on the west and the Shoshone/Bonner County Line to the south. Level 1 is a pre-evacuation notice that informs residents that they should have plans in case the fire moves in their direction. Evacuations are in effect along Highway 56 from mile marker 14 extending south to mile mark 2.7, for both sides of the highway. The evacuation zone also includes all residences on the East Fork Bull River Road. Pre-evacuation notices are in effect for all residences north of Highway 200 from mile marker 6 to the Highway 56 intersection (approximately 4 miles), for the residents on the Old Bull River Road and for residents on Highway 56 from approximately mile mark 14.5 to mile mark 14; and mile mark 2.7 south to the Highway 200 intersection.
Closures: A new closure order on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest will close the 332 Road, the 1066 Road and the 1021 Road at the intersection with the 332 Road, in the local area. The Idaho Panhandle National Forests and the Kootenai National Forest have instituted area and trail closures around many of the fires in the Clark Fork Complex; please consult the websites for the respective Forests at the Idaho Panhandle http://www.fs.usda.gov/ipnf or the Kootenaihttp://www.fs.usda.gov/kootenai for the latest updates.
For the latest fire information and photos, visit http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4531/. Stay current with the Idaho Panhandle National Forest on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USFSIPNF
and the Kootenai National Forest at http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/kootenai/home
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