Wildfire near Stanley nearly doubles in size over weekend as evacuation orders remain

The Wapiti Fire in Custer County nearly doubled in size over the weekend as evacuation orders remain in place for parts of the Stanley area.

The wildfire grew from 35,000 acres Friday to 68,457 acres Sunday, with 0% containment and 461 emergency personnel working to combat it, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

The fire, which started July 24 when a lightning strike created sparks near Grandjean, progressed from east of Stanley Lake toward Idaho Highway 21, according to NIFC. County officials closed Highway 21 from Stanley to Lowman to allow fire management.

The Custer County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation orders for residents near Stanley Lake Friday and encouraged other Stanley residents to be ready to leave should conditions worsen. Those evacuation instructions remained in place Sunday, the Wapiti Fire Information Office told the Idaho Statesman by phone.

The American Red Cross of Idaho and East Oregon opened an evacuation center Saturday at the Stanley Community Center for those who needed a safe place. The community center is found at 510 Eva Falls Ave.

“Leave without delay,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post. “It is unsafe to stay and threaten the safety of you, your family and emergency responders. Emergency responders may not be able to help you if you choose to stay.”

The fire center said that Saturday was the area’s first day without a red flag warning since Wednesday. A red flag warning is issued when warm temperatures, especially low humidity and strong winds, combine to create the perfect conditions to increase fire risk, according to the National Weather Service’s website.

That break allowed firefighters to “make good progress on assessing current conditions and developing strategic suppression plans” as they continued to protect structures near the fire, the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team said in a Sunday report.

“The current focus is to continue protecting structures and communities with dozer and hand lines, air resources, and hose lays to protect the values at risk,” the report said. “This is a full suppression fire, and opportunities to contain the fire’s edge with control lines will be aggressively pursued.”

The Wapiti Fire Information Office did not return the Idaho Statesman’s request for more information.