Current Wildfire Information

Summer 2024

What will the SVWFC Publish this winter once these fires are out?

We’d like to ask YOU your opinions of these fire updates and find out what you want to read about this fall, winter, and spring. What do you want to learn about before next fire season? Watch for a survey of your opinions of the Fire Updates since July with questions about what you’d like to see the SVWFC focus on next.

Also – a public spring SVWFC meeting is being planned to discuss and learn from this summer’s fires. Please watch for an announcement of that meeting. We plan to gather your questions well ahead of the meeting to help structure the conversation and know which experts we need to invite as panelists. Send your questions right now if you have a burning inquiry. Your concerns are probably similar to those of your neighbors and many members of the Fire Collaborative.

Let’s continue a respectful and productive dialogue with the goal of creating a more fire resilient community throughout the Sawtooth Valley.

BAER specialist team hiking in Wapiti Fire area inspecting soils.

Photo via InciWeb

Salmon River Electric will have a scheduled power outage for Tuesday, October 8th from 12:30 – 4:30 PM

Salmon River Electric Cooperative (SVEC) will have a scheduled power outage on Tuesday October 8th, 2024. The outage will start at 12:30 pm and end at 4:30 pm. This outage will affect all members upriver of the Slate Creek bridge (Hwy 93-mile marker 215). This includes the Yankee Fork and the entire Stanley basin.  Down river of Slate Creek will not experience an outage. This power outage is required for maintenance on the main SREC powerline in the river corridor. Please contact the SREC office at 208-879-2283 with any questions.

Submitted to the SVWFC by SREC Staff

If you appreciated reading more than 55 Fire Updates written since July 11, 2024, by the Sawtooth Valley Wildland Fire Collaborative (SVWFC) about the Bench Lake, Wapiti, and Frog Fires, and you look forward to future SVWFC education and advocacy – please consider a gift to the Sawtooth Society. Your generous gift will fund contractors, staff, and volunteer coordination to create a more wildfire resilient Sawtooth Valley.

Thank you for your generous support!

EIN 84-1421909 

October 7, 2024 Fire Information

From Custer County CodeRed – Oct 7 – 12:56 PM

Containment lines have held steady on the Wapiti Fire through the weekend’s red flag fire weather.

All Custer County Evacuation Zone

Status Alerts are being removed.

Wapiti & Frog Fire Information -October 7, 2024

Wapiti Fire: Location: near Grandjean, ID. Reported: July 24, 2024, Cause: Lightning. Size: 126,817 acres, Completion: 80%, Total Personnel: 186.

Frog Fire: Location: east of Clayton, ID. Reported: September 7, 2024, Cause: Lightning. Size: 3,020 acres, Containment: 87%, Total Personnel: 34.

Weather:

Today’s winds are expected to be lighter than they were yesterday, with gusts around 10 -15 mph in exposed terrain. It will be a little drier, and temperatures will be a few degrees warmer. (60s and 70s in the fire areas.) Clouds and winds will increase a bit tonight and tomorrow, but little rain is expected. 

Current Situation:

Yesterday, increased fire activity was apparent on both the Wapiti and the Frog Fires, producing smoke in several interior areas, but not threatening containment lines. Increased smoke also showed an uptick in fire activity in the Sawtooth Wilderness, the southeast corner of the Wapiti Fire, where the fire is burning through isolated timber stringers in very rugged and inaccessible terrain. While firefighters have completed most suppression and repair activities, today crews will be working in several areas on both the Wapiti and the Frog Fires. Engine and hand crews will patrol containment lines and use helicopters to monitor internal fire activity. A Wildland Fire module will work on the Frog Fire, maintaining containment lines in the northeast part of the fire, and searching for the heat signature found by an infrared flight in the Red Ridge area. On the Wapiti Fire, a task force will be in the Grandjean area to remove hazardous trees and debris, restore access to the Sourdough area, and monitor the area. Firefighters will continue to remove fire-weakened hazard trees, or “snags” and clearing debris in the fire area on several closed Forest Service roads including Stanely Lake road and along Hwy 21.

Evacuations:

Evacuation status for Stanley Zone 1 is currently at READY. Sign up for Custer County CodeRED emergency notifications: text CUSTER to 99411 or enroll at https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/BF28E45537FF. You can sign up for Boise County Alert Sense emergency notifications at https://public.alertsense.com/SignUp/publicUser.aspx?regionid=1163. For more evacuation information on the Wapiti Fire, please see the Custer County Sheriff’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/p/Custer-County-Sheriff-Idaho-61558947312289/, and the Boise County Sheriff’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/boisecountysheriff/.

Closures:

Please reference the map and description at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-closures/idbofwapiti-fire. Many trails remain closed for public safety. The Wapiti Fire area closure, which covers portions of the Sawtooth, Boise, and Salmon-Challis National Forests was reduced on the southern end, excluding the Lowman, Ten Ax, Two Raven, and Sourdough communities. An interactive map for all closures on the Boise National Forest is found at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/642380b0eb124c8cab6bd9ad3d7146ad/page/Overview/#data_s=id %3AdataSource_5-1888bd00a2c-layer-13-1888bd00b53-layer-16%3A82. The area closure in place around the Frog Fire includes FS 667 (Big Boulder Creek Road) and Trail 047 where it is adjacent to the closure boundary. The closure excludes FS Roads 669 and 670 and Trail 682. Please reference the map and read the full closure description at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-closures/idstf-frog.

For questions on permits and firewood collection on the Sawtooth National Forest, please contact the Stanley Ranger District at 208.774.3000.

For updated air quality information go to: https://www.airnow.gov/

A map produced by BAER team findings displaying varying degrees of soil burn damage. Red and yellow areas are moderate to high severity.

Reminder: Burned soil can be unstable..! Please exercise caution, and pay attention to what is above you. Be mindful of debris slides.

ROAD CLOSURE:

HIGHWAY 21 REOPENED

AMERICAN RED CROSS

If you need assistance, call 1-800-RED-CROSS

 EIN 84-1421909

READY, SET, GO Alert and Map.

The three levels on an evacuation map:

Evacuation Order - Level 3 - GO NOW.

Evacuation Warning - Level 2 - SET

Evacuation Advisory - Level 1 - READY

For Official Frog Fire Evacuation and Ready, Set, Go Info, please refer to these Facebook Pages:

Custer County Emergency Management | Facebook

Custer County Sheriff – Idaho Facebook

Not on social media? Check the SVWFC Website!

SVWFC Facebook will also share Custer County Evacuation posts as soon as possible on the SVWFC Website. Go to the SVWFC “Wildfire News Feed” tab for a comment-free format. (Official sources remain the fastest alerts.)

Latest News & Updates – Sawtooth Wildland Fire Collab (sawtoothfirecollab.org)

Zone Map from Custer County Emergency Mangement:

Attention East Fork Residents!! Please take notice of the new Zone Notification Map for your area. Zone 1 Hwy 75 to Spar Canyon Road–Zone 2 from Spar Canyon Road to Road Creek–Zone 3 From Road Creek to Fox Creek–Zone 4 From Fox Creek To Big Boulder Creek–Zone 5 Big Boulder Creek/Railroad Ridge–Zone 6 Big Boulder Creek to the end of East Fork Road. KNOW YOUR ZONE!!!

FIRE RESPONDER THANK YOU CARDS

If you would like to extend your gratitude, cards and envelopes are available at 101 Empty Saddle Trail. Or drop off artwork or your own cards during business hours in the basket at the front desk!

Firefighters LOVE kid’s artwork! Can your classroom make posters or write letters?

The SWVFC is pleased to announce the Limelight Hotel in Ketchum is offering a very special rate to support anyone affected by the Wapiti Fire. Please consider a stay at the Limelight if you are an evacuee, on a fire crew taking your days off, a resident or a business owner from anywhere near the fire in Stanley, Lowman, or the Sawtooth Valley. The Limelight leadership team wants to support YOU and the community with a chance to get out of the smoke, to rest and recover from the anxiety and health hazards of this fire, or to have a home base (or get off a couch!) if you are evacuated. Reservations can be made for the next two weeks and will be continued in two-week periods as needed.

Call The Limelight at (855) 441 – 2250 and ask for the Wapiti Fire Community Support Rate. Thank you Limelight Hotel!

Air Quality Information

The City of Stanley, local lodging, guides and outfitters, and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area are open and ready to receive visitors.

When visibility starts to go below 5 miles, sensitive groups should minimize outdoor activities. Everyone else should minimize prolonged or physical activity outdoors.

AIR QUALITY DATA BY LOCATION – KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Google Maps now includes air quality data.

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality temporarily installed an official air quality monitor at the Stanley Ranger Station on August 12th. You can view the monitor in real time using this map: Fire and Smoke Map (airnow.gov)

Privately owned sensors: Real-Time Air Quality Map | PurpleAir

Visit the Idaho Smoke Blog for more information:

http://idsmoke.blogspot.com/

(STATE OF IDAHO, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY)

Wildfire Smoke | Idaho Department of Health and Welfare

IDEQ Air Quality Map

Ready, Set, Go Action Plan

Printable Lists – How to respond to wildfire near your home.

idaho_actionguide.pdf (iafc.org)

EMERGENCY ALERT SERVICES

“Reverse 911” to any phone based on your chosen addresses
CodeRed – Boise County

https://public.alertsense.com/SignUp/?regionid=1163

CodeRed – Custer County

https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/BF28E45537FF

Or Text “CUSTER” to 99411

to receive the enrollment link on your device

CodeRed – Blaine County

https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/en-US/58D579DB8746

Or Text: “BLAINECOUNTY” to 99411

to receive the enrollment link on your device.

Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS)

Link for more info: IPAWS

No Sign Up Needed – set your phone to receive IPAWS

Apple:

  • Go to Settings > Notifications. Scroll down to the Government Alerts section, then turn on the alerts you want to receive. Tap Emergency Alerts if you want to turn on Emergency Alerts and Local Awareness.

Android:

  • Go to Setting >Notifications. Scroll down to Wireless emergency alerts and select. Under Allow alerts, tap the slider on the left to turn them all off or to the right to turn them all on.

I’d like to Volunteer

Thank you for your interest in volunteering!

The SVWFC is the only collaborative in our region working collectively to reduce wildland fire risks in the Sawtooth Valley. Mitigating wildfire hazards in the Sawtooth Valley protects Blaine and Custer Counties from catastrophic fires due to prevailing winds that can funnel fire into the Big Wood and Salmon River drainages. The collaborative structure of SVWFC was not mandated by any law, regulation, or policy, but rather by community-driven need. The tremendous positive impacts of fire collaboratives in other regions of Idaho and the West motivate local stakeholders to work together. The SVWFC aims to better protect local communities from ongoing hazards of wildfires as effectively and efficiently as possible.

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In central Idaho, research shows that hot, dry weather conditions and wildfire patterns will continue to put people and structures at risk and harm our natural ecosystems. On average, 45 fires burn each fire season in the Sawtooth National Forest – half caused by lighting, and half caused by humans. While regular fire is an important and regenerative part of the ecosystem, since the 1980s, the fire season – when the vegetation is dry enough to sustain a fire – has lengthened considerably according to Dr. John Abatzoglou, a scientist who studies climate science, wildfire, and its impact on the American West.

“Over the past 50 years, fires have become much larger, and the amount of landscape being burned is increasing dramatically,” Abatzoglou said. Large, severe fires are highly likely to intensify in Idaho and result in longer wildfire seasons, and increased wildfire frequency, intensity, and total area burned.