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Wildfire
Prescribed Fire
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The Wapiti Fire was started by lightning late in the evening of July 24, 2024, approximately 2 miles southwest of Grandjean, ID. Steep terrain, difficult access and unfavorable weather conditions have challenged firefighters. The Boise National Forest managed the fire until a Complex Incident Management Team was requested.
Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team 5 assumed command of the Wapiti Fire at 6 am on August 10, 2024 and will manage it along with the Bulltrout fire and Middlefork Complex Fires: Bulldog, Nellie and Anderson. All of these fires, along with a number of others were started by the same series of thunderstorms between the 24th of July and August 6th.
Boise County Sherriff's Office evacuated Grandjean residents and the Forest has enacted a closure order for public safety. Please avoid the fire area so that fire suppression efforts are not impacted. https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/uas/if-you-fly
The Boise National Forest, Idaho Department of Lands, and Bureau of Land Management are in Stage 1 fire restrictions on state, endowment, private and federal lands within the West Central Mountains Fire Restrictions Zone. For more information, visit the Idaho fires Restrictions website at: https://www.idl.idaho.gov/fire-management/fire-restrictions-finder/
| Current as of | Sun, 08/11/2024 - 21:03 |
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| Incident Time Zone | America/Boise |
| Incident Type | Wildfire |
| Cause | Lightning/Natural |
| Date of Origin | |
| Location | 2 miles southwest of Grandjean, ID |
| Incident Commander | Rick Connell, Incident Commander, Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team 5 |
| Coordinates |
44° 09' 1'' Latitude
-115° 12' 18
'' Longitude
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| Total Personnel: | 52 |
|---|---|
| Size | 2,452 Acres |
| Percent of Perimeter Contained | 0% |
| Estimated Containment Date | 9/30/2024 |
| Fuels Involved | Timber with litter and understory, short grass and brush. |
| Significant Events | Active fire behavior was observed, with surface burning in timber and understory, group torching, and short range spotting into receptive dead fuels. Fire behavior dependent on ventilation, dead fuel availability, and terrain influences. Once smoke inversion lifts fire behavior becomes more active. Live fuels currently show a resistance to spread. |
| Planned Actions |
Provide and improve protections for structures and improvements in Wapiti Creek, Bear Creek, Camp Creek Summer Home areas, Sawtooth Lodge and infrastructure in the Grandjean area. Conduct firing operations based on fire behavior. |
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| Projected Incident Activity |
Sunday/Sunday Night: There is a high potential that the fire will continue to spread west and north in the South Fork Payette River drainage, back and flank northeast in the South Fork Payette River drainage. Easterly fire spread will be limited due to the fuel type change that occurs closer to the river. South fire spread into the Wapiti Creek drainage with backing fire behavior. The fire will continue to spread downhill and along the ridgelines to the west and north into the South Fork Payette River drainage, Isolated and group torching is expected, and spotting will be likely. The interior will continue to burn within pockets of timber/understory, isolated and group torching is expected. Fire behavior is expected to remain moderate to active during the night do to a strong thermal belt and down canyon/down slope winds. |
| Remarks |
This incident in being managed by Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team 5 along with Bulltrout and Middle Fork Complex |
| Weather Concerns | A warm and dry airmass remailed across the fire aera Sunday. Inversion conditions limited ventilation and kept relative humidity values elevated above 30% through early afternoon, while winds remained light. As this inversion lifted by mid-afternoon, ventilation increased and RH fell into the upper teens to low 20 percent range. Temperatures across the fire area climbed into the 80s to low 90s, while general winds were from the west around 5 mph, with gusts of 10-12 mph. A few showers will be possible around the area Monday morning, otherwise inversion conditions will again prevail through early afternoon. This inversion will lift by mid-afternoon, allowing RH to fell into the 20-25% range, while temperatures again warm into the 80s, and general winds reman light from the west. A weather system will bring a round of showers and thunderstorms to the area Monday night into early Tuesday, along with an increase in RH and a cooling trend. |
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