Nevada IMT3 returns to Trestle Creek Complex

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HOPE — A return to hot and dry conditions is expected to cause more backing and flanking to occur on portions of the Trestle Creek Complex fires near Hope.

On the other side of the county, a lightning storm Tuesday night into Wednesday morning added more than dozen lightning caused-fires in the Priest Lake area. Public and agency reports, along with aerial reconnaissance, led to the detection of 15, which were quickly staffed with initial attack resources, Kary Maddox, fire information officer for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, said.

"Diverting firefighting aircraft to small, initial attack fires is often the most prudent and effective use of those assets to keep early detections from turning into large fires, Maddox said. "With hard work from firefighters on the ground, aided by aviation support, 9 of these fires have been contained to date and 2 called out."

Maddox said it is important to note that the fires, located on the Priest Lake Ranger District, are separate from the human-caused fires under investigation by the Idaho Department of Lands in the Priest River area.

"Due to protection boundaries, our partners at IDL see a far higher rate of human-caused starts in the wildland-urban interfaces they protect compared to the more backcountry areas under US Forest Service protection," Maddox said.

Regardless of how a fire starts, firefighting resources are necessary for suppression, fire officials said.

"With extreme fire danger and unusually high fire activity across the Idaho panhandle and much of the West, firefighting resources are strained," said Maddox. "While we cannot control the weather, each of us can do our part to prevent human caused starts.

On the Pioneer Fire, mop-up operations continue to meet standards to ensure that the first 100 feet of the fire interior is cold, wet, and inactive.

The fire, located 2 miles north of Priest River, was first reported July 29. The fire, which burned 355 acres, is 100% contained.

On the Trestle Creek Complex, the Nevada Type 3 Incident Management Team 3 has returned to the area and is again managing the fires.

The fire, which as burned 3,450 acres is 0% contained and is being fought by a mixture of local and Forest Service resources. Isolated torching with mostly backing and flanking with some short uphill runs by the fire has been observed, fire officials said on InciWeb, an interagency fire tracking website.

The fire is expected to continue backing toward the west of Trestle Ridge and the south end of the fire, about a half-mile from nearby homes.

Thunderstorms and winds are expected to increase, with the potential for flare-ups and spreading of the fire if predicted rains are light. Cooler conditions and a chance for precipitation will likely moderate any growth potential of the fire, Nevada IMT3 officials said.

Crews are working to open up Road 1082 between the main fire and private homes in the Trestle Creek area. They also are continue to scout out opportunities to open old road systems to create additional access areas as well as direct and indirect lines of attack on the fire.

Nevada IMT3 officials said the fire has not reached private property and no structures have been lost.

While there are no current evacuations in the vicinity of the Trestle Creek Complex fires, several areas are set to "ready" status. They include Rapid Lightning (from Wellington North), Wellington, Vandyke, Trapper Creek, Trapper Creek Spur, Stove, Box Canyon, High, and Rising Hawk Ridge roads, Dragon Drive, Moon Fire Road, Hidden Forest Way, Stellar Drive, Legacy Lane, Ice Creek Forest Lane, Early Breakfast Creek Road, Barbary Trail, Dads Garden Lane, Snowshoe Ridge Road, Laid Back Drive, and Cross Mountain, Holly Berry, Flume Creek, Little Flume Creek, Dunn Creek, and Out of the Woods roads.

Residents of residents of Slippery Slope Trail and Saddler Creek Road are at "set" status for pre-evacuation.

The Trestle Creek Road has been closed at Highway 200 and Lightning Creek Road remains closed north of Clark Fork. Residents are asked to stay out of these areas and to not go past any closure barriers.

In other major fires in the region:

Stateline Complex

The Stateline Complex consists of numerous fires burning on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, the two largest being the Dolly Creek and Tumbledown fires. The Tumbledown Fire has burned 9,478 acres and is 0% contained and the Dolly Creek Fire has burned 825 acres and is 0% contained.

On the Tumbledown Fire, crews are planning to use a heavy equipment task force to construct mechanical fire line on the north, northwest, west and southwest flanks of the fire where most of the recent growth occurred. On Wednesday, crews were able to secure the north and east flank of the fire and Thursday, crews worked to complete a containment line on the south and west flanks.

Character Complex

The Character Complex — comprised of the Deceitful and Prichard fires — has burned 7,516 acres and is 30% contained.

South Yaak Fire

Detected on July 13, the South Yaak Fire has burned 9,795 acres and is 10% contained. Minimal to moderate fire behavior was observed with backing, flanking, and slow upslope spread over much of the fire area. Isolated torching and short range spotting did occur in some areas.

Burnt Peak Fire

Located 9 miles southwest of Troy, the fire is 46% contained and has burned 3,465 acres. Moderate fire behavior has been observed with torching, flanking, and backing due to current weather conditions.

For information on fire restriction, the Ready, Set, Go evacuation program, Idaho Firewise and more, go online to idahofireinfo.com.