Single Publication

Quick Facts 

Fire Location 

Wolf Creek: 5 miles W of Donnelly, ID 

Boulder: 9 miles SW of Cascade, ID 

Size 

Wolf Creek: 954 acres 

Boulder: 620 acres 

Containment 

Wolf Creek: 2% 

Boulder: 7% 

Personnel 

Wolf Creek: 173 

Boulder: 162 

Start Date 

Both Fires: 7/24/2024 

Cause 

Both Fires: lightning 

Incident Commander 

Mike Johnston, Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team #7 

Summary: The Boulder and Wolf Creek Fires started on the evening of Wednesday, July 24, 2024. On July 31st an incident management team was delegated the West Mountain Complex which includes: Boulder, Wapiti and Bulltrout Fires on the Boise National Forest and the Wolf Creek Fire on the Payette National Forest. All fires are using a full suppression strategy to manage these lightning-caused fires. For firefighter safety, please avoid high traffic fire areas and give the firefighters room to do their work. Please be aware of aerial resources while recreating on Cascade Lake as they are using the reservoir as their water source for suppression.  

Weather | Anticipated Fire Behavior:  Today and tomorrow Central and Eastern Idaho will see record high temperatures as well as low relative humidities – this is expected to increase fire behavior across both fires. The relative humidity will be less than 20% tonight into Saturday with overnight recovery temps staying in the 60’s. Temperatures over both fires will be in the 80-90° range. We expect to see more torching of standing tress as the vegetation dries out and spotting distances increase.  

Actions: Crews continue to complete safe operations on all fires. The use of heavy equipment has been essential in operations. Dozers, feller bunchers and masticators have been working to create wide swaths of cleared vegetation in order to contain the fire at strategic locations. Additional crews, engines and equipment continue to arrive each day.  

Boulder Fire: The fire has reached 7% containment on the southwest end. For the next two shifts, crews will be working on completing firing operations on the northwest side of the fire to burn out pockets of live vegetation, ensuring that the perimeter is secured. On the east side of the fire heavy equipment has completed a dozer line which will aid in containment. Air operations continue to support on-the-ground efforts and get out in front of any spotting.  

Wolf Creek Fire: The fire has reached 2% containment. On the east side of the fire dozers and scoopers have been out in front of the hand crews cooling off hotspots, allowing the crews to put in handline safely. They have also completed in-direct line on the west side tying into existing roads. On the east side crews continue to hold and improve already established direct line along the fire’s edge. Fire activity picked up in the afternoon on Thursday, but there was no large acreage growth observed.  

Important Information: The Boise National Forest has issued a closure order #0402-04-98 for National Forest System (NFS) roads, trails and lands encompassing the Boulder Fire. The closure was enacted to protect public safety and support fire suppression activities. The closure includes Blue Lake and Snowbank Mountain Road (#446) along with all #404 and #421 system roads. Near the Wolf Creek Fire, Forest Road #435 (Anderson Lake Road) was closed on August 1st.  For more information on closures on the Boise National Forest please visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/boise/alerts-notices  

On the Payette National Forest, another closure including popular National Forest System roads around the Wolf Creek fire such as: sections of NFS #1763 (West Mountain Jeep Trail), #835, #206 and #326 was issued on July 27, 2024. For a map and a more detailed description of the closure please visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/payette/alerts-notices  

For the Wolf Creek Fire, the Valley County Sheriff’s Office has issued a “ready” evacuation order for residents in Zone 7 and Zone 8. Valley County Sheriff Kevin Copperi said, “Our goal is to ensure that our impacted residents have the time they need to make arrangements to move large animals and agricultural assets as well as secure their homes in the case the fire moves quickly.” Maps and additional information on the evacuation status can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/5n7kbuy6  

Stage 1 Fire Restrictions have been issued for the Payette Fire Restrictions Area. To check your specific area or for more detailed guidelines: https://tinyurl.com/56rmf7p6. 

InciWeb: 

• https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/idpaf-wolf-creek-fire 
• https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/idbof-boulder-fire 

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/BoiseNationalForest   

https://www.facebook.com/payettenationalforest 

Payette National Forest                                                 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/payette 

Boise National Forest 

• https://www.fs.usda.gov/boise   

Idaho Department of Lands  

• https://www.idl.idaho.gov/fire-management/