Firefighters are beginning to get a handle on one of the two fires burning 70 miles northwest of Boise, Idaho. The Raft and Hells Canyon fires are three miles from each other on the east side of Brownlee Reservoir.
The Hells Canyon Fire only grew by 10 acres Saturday, bringing the total to 9,373 acres. It is 85% contained. The Raft has burned 12,000 acres, is only 8% contained, and is actively burning within Benton Creek on the Payette National Forest.
A Type 2 Incident Management team with Mike Whalen as the Incident Commander will assume command of the fires Sunday. They will be managed as the Weiser Complex.
Flew by them Friday on my way to Nampa Id from La Grande. Pretty impressive column from the Raft fire yesterday and seen from La Grande..
Red flag for this area (NE Oregon) tomorrow through Thurs.