Crews gain upper hand on local fires

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A quick response enabled crews to get a handle on the Prater Red 2 Fire, located 11 miles northeast of Priest River.

The fire is estimated at 42 acres and is 50% contained. The fire is burning exclusively on Idaho Endowment lands in heavy logging slash on steep canyon slopes. There are no structures threatened or evacuations in place.

"Yesterday fireline and hose lays were completed around the fire’s perimeter," Jennifer Russell, public information officer for the Idaho Department of Lands, said. "These hoses, along with sprinklers, pumps, and water tanks, will deliver water to the fire directly so that fire crews can begin the arduous task of mopping up hot spots toward the interior of the burn."

While mop-up standards differ for every fire, in this case, Russell said that crews will work to have at least 100 feet from fire edge toward the interior of the burn cold to the touch.

Russell said fallers – specialized firefighters trained to cut trees in wildland fire environments – worked to take down fire-weakened hazard trees on extremely steep slopes in the Big Creek drainage. Those hazard trees present a safety risk for both firefighter in the present and the public in the future. In addition, heavy equipment completed rehabilitation work on constructed contingency lines and was released from the incident.

On Monday, crews were scheduled to work to increase the depth of the mop-up effort around the fire's perimeter. That effort will help the firefighters gain 100% containment, she said.

Portions of Big Creek Road, including Happy Fork Gap Road, are impacted by the fire and the public is being asked to stay out of the area to allow a focus on firefighting efforts.

"[Sunday's] public traffic was considerably less than days prior – fire managers and crews appreciate all the public’s help in finding alternative routes," Russell said.

Fire managers would like to remind the recreating public that fire conditions are still very dry and windy. Extreme caution is advised with any use of open flames outdoors and campfires should be completely extinguished with water before individuals leave camp for any reason.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The public is encouraged to call the IDL Fire Investigation Hotline at 208-666-8659 or the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office at 208-265-5525 with any information they may have about wildland fire starts in Bonner County.

On the other side of the county, the Trestle Creek Complex has reached 60% containment as hits the two-month mark. The fire, which is about 4 miles north of Hope, has burned 6, 641 acres since it was sparked by a lightning storm on July 7.

Firefighters are working to focus resources on containment actions along the southern and western flanks of the fire, Jess Harvey, public information officer for the Nevada Type 3 incident management team heading firefighting efforts on the complex.

Crews will continue to use heavy equipment to create fuel breaks as well as indirect, and direct lines where possible. Engine crews and hand crews are working to secure spot fires in Trestle Creek, and continue to scout for opportunities to use old roads as access areas as well as containment lines, Harvey said.

Continued crew support will help firefighters progress from anchor points and continue constructing direct line where feasible and advantageous, Harvey said.

However, he noted that terrain features are limiting the effectiveness of heavy equipment.

"Agency administrators identified protection of the municipal watershed as secondary only to human safety," Harvey added.