Single Publication

Fire Location:

• Wapiti: 2 miles SE of Grandjean 
• Bulltrout: 35 miles NE of Lowman 

Size: 

• Wapiti: 1337 acres  
• Bulltrout: 271 acres 

Containment: 

• Wapiti: 0% 
• Bulltrout: 74% 

Personnel: 

• Wapiti: 64
• Bulltrout: 96

Start Date:

• Wapiti: 7/24/2024 
• Bulltrout:7/25/2024 

Cause:

• Lightning

Incident Commander: 

• Mike Johnston, Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team #7 

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Summary: The Wapiti and Bulltrout fires resulted from a lightning storm on Wednesday, July 24, 2024.On July 31st an incident management team was delegated the West Mountain Complex which includes the Boulder, Wapiti and Bulltrout Fires on the Boise National Forest and the Wolf Creek Fire on the Payette National Forest. A full suppression strategy is being utilized on these lightning-caused fires. Firefighter and public safety remain the top priority for fire managers. 

Weather | Anticipated Fire Behavior: Temperatures in the fire areas will remain in the 70s, with relative humidities rising slightly to 17-25%. Wind speeds will drop slightly from yesterday, with gusts of 15 mph. Downslope winds are expected in the morning, followed by upslope winds in the afternoon. Winds pushing to the southeast are possible, which could push the fire towards more dense vegetation. Dry thunderstorms are anticipated in the area over the weekend, with low chances of substantial moisture in the coming days. 

Actions:  Resources are identified and prepared for initial attack. Aircraft will be ready to support firefighters on the ground for any new fire starts. The Cascade area received several new fire starts on Monday evening on both the Boise and Payette National Forests. Alongside the local unit, the Incident Management Team is coordinating shared resources to staff those new starts. Great Basin Team #7 assumed command of two of those new starts, the Dollar and Snag fires at 6:00 AM today. Firefighter and public safety as well as the protection of values at risk remains the top priority of the team through all suppression efforts. 

Wapiti Fire: Firefighting crews remain engaged in implementing appropriate tactics give the fuel and terrain with the highest probability of success protecting the private property in the area. Yesterday, crews began firing operations to direct the fire away from private property and denser pockets of vegetation. Firing operations are used by wildfire managers to achieve suppression objectives by burning off unburned fuels between the current fire footprint and the primary containment lines. This firing operation has several days of careful planning between cooperators, agency administrators, incident commanders and on-the-ground overhead staff and crews. Crews will continue firing operations, as well as other strategies, to best protect nearby values at risk while keeping firefighters and the public safe. 

Bulltrout Fire: The Bulltrout Fire remains in patrol status. Firefighting crews continue to mop up and repair the disturbance that has resulted from suppression actions.

Important Information: For the Wapiti Fire, the Boise and Sawtooth National Forests have issued a closure order for roads, trails and lands encompassing the Wapiti Fire. The closure was enacted to protect public safety and support fire suppression activities. The closure affects interior travel on several National Forest System roads such as NFS Grandjean Road #524 and the Warm Springs Air Strip. Additional information about these closures can be found at https://tinyurl.com/2u8v3pf7

For the Bulltrout Fire, the Boise and Salmon‐Challis National Forests have issued a closure order for roads, trails and lands encompassing the Bulltrout Fire. The closure was enacted to protect public safety and support fire suppression activities. This closure includes National Forest System (NFS) Roads #579, #582 and several others. There are no disruptions in access to the Boundary Creek Boat Launch.  NFS Road #579 is open in its entirety from Highway 21 to NFS Road #568 to the Boundary Creek Boat Launch. Risk to responders and public safety remain the highest priority for the incident management team. Additional information about these closures can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/2u8v3pf7. The Boise National Forest is working on a reduction on the closure order area. This information will be shared when the new order is finalized. 

The evacuation of the Grandjean area and the Sawtooth Lodge remains in place and the incident management team is in close coordination with the Boise County Sheriff’s Office.

For timely information on evacuations, check out your county’s emergency alert system.  For Boise County, sign up for notifications from Alert Sense at: https://public.alertsense.com/SignUp/?regionid=1163.

Both fires are adjacent to Highway 21 which is a popular travel route in Central Idaho. With the influx of vehicles in the area from fire and support personnel, please use extreme caution when traveling along Highway 21 between Stanley and Lowman, to help ensure fire crews safety while working. 

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 on the restrictions and a map visit: https://www.idl.idaho.gov/fire-management/fire-restrictions-finder/