Firefighters work along Idaho Highway 21 west of Stanley to fight the Wapiti Fire on Aug. 26, 2024. (Courtesy of U.S. Forest Service/ Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1)
Firefighters have been working through the night to protect homes as Idaho’s Wapiti Fire increased to more than 70,000 acres burned and containment was still estimated at 0%, fire officials said Tuesday.
The Wapiti Fire was started by lighting on July 24 near Grandjean and is burning in the Boise National Forest, Sawtooth National Forest, Sawtooth Wilderness and Salmon-Challis National Forest.
“Monday afternoon, fire activity increased, and the fire began moving into Crooked Creek,” the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team wrote in the Wapiti Fire’s InciWeb daily update .
“The focus continues to be on the protection of structures and communities while beginning to establish control features where possible,” fire officials added.
Fire officials said Tuesday there were 620 people fighting the Wapiti Fire, and wildland firefighters and crews were using air tankers to create a fire retardant line east of Idaho Highway 21.
As of Tuesday, eight single residences and five additional structures have been burned by the Wapiti Fire, said public fire information officers responding to questions asked during a livestreamed community fire meeting in Lowman on Tuesday night.
Dan Dallas, incident commander for the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team, said firefighters worked through the night Monday to protect homes near the town of Stanley.
“The fire quickly kind of took off, started advancing toward Stanley and the subdivisions on Highway 21, just outside of Stanley about a quarter- to a half-mile (away),” Dallas said at the meeting. “So we put in a line of retardant up Iron Creek Road here and then turned the corner and went on the other side of Highway 21. The purpose of that was to try and prevent spots across the line.”
“That was successful; burned ’til about 3 o’clock in the morning,” Dallas added.
During Tuesday’s meeting, fire officials and Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management team leaders encouraged area residents threatened by wildfire to gather all of their insurance documents and make plans for what they want to take with them in the event of evacuation. They said making preparations early will be easier than trying to hastily gather vital insurance documents and any irreplaceable family heirlooms to take with them at the last minute
Idaho wildfire activity forces closure of portions of highways, roads, trails and recreation areas
On Tuesday night, the Custer County Sheriff’s Office announced it issued an emergency evacuation order for Lower Stanley and Gateway communities, telling residents to leave immediately.
Previously, Idaho Transportation Department officials closed Idaho Highway 21 between Lowman and Stanley due to the Wapiti Fire. That closure remained in effect Tuesday. Officials have also closed Idaho Highway 17, which is also commonly known as the Banks-Lowman Road, in both directions between Garden Valley and Lowman due to the nearby Nellie Fire, which is part of the Middle Fork Complex fires.
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“ The closure is necessary for public safety and to provide safe conditions for firefighters working along the highway,” fire officials wrote Tuesday .
On Aug. 22, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service supervisors issued a closure order that closes portions of the Boise, Sawtooth and Salmon-Challis national forests due to the Wapiti Fire. The order prohibits the public from going into the Wapiti Fire area and using roads and trails in the Wapiti Fire area. The closure order is due to remain in effect until Dec. 31, unless it is rescinded early. A violation of the order is subject to fines of up to $5,000 for individuals or $10,000 for organizations, as well as a prison term of up to six months, according to the order.
Due to increased fire activity, the Boise County Sheriff’s Office expanded evacuation orders for the Wapiti Fire, placing all homes along the Idaho Highway 21 corridor between milepost 82 and milepost 85 under a Level 1 evacuation order and urging those residents to be prepared and ready to leave.
The latest evacuation information is available on the Boise County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page and the Custer County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page . Updates are also available on the Wapiti Fire Information 2024 Facebook page .
Fire officials worried conditions may allow Wapiti Fire to continue to increase
Fire officials expressed concern about weather conditions and the potential for the fire to continue to spread.
“Near critical fire weather conditions are expected this afternoon as gusty southwest winds develop ahead of a dry cold front moving through later tonight,” the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team wrote Tuesday. “This will increase fire behavior, resulting in potential for increased rates of spread, torching and spotting.”
During Tuesday night’s community meeting in Lowman, Dallas said the Wapiti Fire may continue to burn until cold weather and snow arrive.
“We’re here until we either time out and another team comes or something happens with the weather, but I’ve got my doubts –we’re not seeing that right now,” Dallas said.
On Tuesday, the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise reported there are 13 large fires burning in Idaho that have burned a total of 195,579 acres.
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