Wildfires in Southeast Washington and Western Idaho. The red areas represent heat detected by a satellite at 4:12 a.m. PDT July 10, 2021.
The fires in Western Idaho and Southeast Washington were very active Friday and into the night.
The Shovel Creek Fire east of the Snake River merged with the Captain John Creek Fire just to the north, 13 miles south of Lewiston, Idaho. It is being managed with the Hoover Ridge Fire 5 miles to the east in what is now the Snake River Complex of fires. Together, they have burned 31,900 acres. On Saturday the Type 3 Incident Management Team is transitioning to the Type 2 Northern Rockies Team 4. The plan for Saturday is to establish an operational strategy and continue point protection. Boats are being used to shuttle firefighters on the Snake River.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the wildfires in Southeast Washington and West Idaho, including the most recent, click HERE.)
Snake River Complex July 9, 2021. InciWeb photo.
The Dixie Fire is just east of the small community of Dixie, Idaho, east of Road NF-222. Friday night it was mapped at about 13,000 acres. It is burning in mixed conifer stands with 40-60% standing dead trees in some areas. Old fire scars with heavy accumulations of down fuels are slowing the fire but are not barriers to fire spread. Long range spotting is occurring. If the fire activity increases, the incident management team said, it could prompt structure protection in the communities of Dixie and Comstock, and along the Salmon River at the Jim Moore and Whitewater Ranches.
The 1,300-acre Jumbo Fire is seven miles west of the Dixie Fire. They are both being managed by the Type 1 Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 2.
In Washington the lightning-caused Dry Gulch and Lick Creek Fires 9 miles southwest of Lewiston, Idaho merged and are now known as the Dry Gulch Fire. It has burned about 38,000 acres, an increase of 13,000. Structures are threatened and evacuations are in effect. Most of the growth Friday was to the southwest where it is moving into higher elevations and heavier vegetation.
The fires in Western Idaho and Southeast Washington were very active and continued to expand Thursday night.
The Shovel Creek Fire east of the Snake River 20 miles south of Lewiston, Idaho was mapped at 16,066 acres. It is being managed by a Type 3 Incident Management Team led by Incident Commander Miller.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the wildfires in Southeast Washington and West Idaho, including the most recent, click HERE.)
The Captain John Creek Fire is just north of the Shovel Creek Fire and the two are likely to merge. By our estimate it has burned at least 5,000 acres based on satellite imagery.
The Hoover Ridge Fire is 25 miles south of Lewiston, 6 miles east of the Shovel Creek Fire. We estimate it has burned about 2,000 acres.
Satellite photo showing smoke from wildfires in the Northwest U.S., at 7:30 p.m. MDT July 8, 2021. NASA.
The Dixie Fire is just east of the small community of Dixie, Idaho, east of Road NF-222. On Thursday it had burned about 11,000 acres but has grown since then.
The 1,300-acre Jumbo Fire is seven miles west of the Dixie Fire. They are both being managed by the same Type 1 Incident Management Team, Northern Rockies Team 2.
In Washington the lightning-caused Dry Gulch and Lick Creek Fires 9 miles southwest of Lewiston, Idaho merged and are now known as the Dry Gulch Fire. Friday morning the revised size was 19,346 acres due to more accurate mapping. The fire behavior is being described as extreme, structures are threatened, and evacuations are in effect.
8:02 p.m. MDT July 8, 2021
Northern Idaho and Southeast Washington Fires, July 8, 2021
The lightning that came through Washington, Idaho, and Montana Tuesday and Wednesday started many wildfires, in large part due to the dry fuels and the fact that little or no rain accompanied the lightning.
On July 7, 106 new fires were discovered in the Northern Rockies Geographic Area which includes Northern Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota.
The area where three states converge, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, has seen a lot of wildfire activity over the last two days. Some of the blazes started yesterday, July 7, and may be related to the dry lightning, but the causes for all fires have not been determined.
The Shovel Creek Fire started from lightning July 7 and has burned at least 6,000 acres in Western Idaho just east of the Snake River very close to the point where the three states meet. It is 20 miles south of Lewiston, Idaho. The river is the boundary between Idaho and the other two states. The fire is being fully suppressed by the Northern Rockies Team 4, with Incident Commander Connell.
There are two other large fires near the Shovel Creek Fire in Idaho — one is two miles north, about 1,100 acres, and the other is six miles east, approximately 1,300 acres. We were not able to determine the name of those two.
The 11,000-acre Dixie Fire is just east of the small community of Dixie, Idaho, east of Road NF-222. It has been burning since July 5 and is being managed by a Type 1 Incident Management Team which is expected to assume command July 9. The team’s strategy is four-fold, 25 percent each: monitor, confine, point protection, and suppression.
The Jumbo Fire has burned about 571 acres 8 miles west of the Dixie Fire. It started from lightning July 6 and is being managed by a Type 3 Team led by Bransford. They have multiple strategies: monitor, confine, and point protection.
There are two large fires in southeast Washington about 15 miles southwest of Lewiston, Idaho. Heat detected by satellites at 2:48 p.m. Thursday indicates that they probably have burned together or merged with other blazes. The fire names are Dry Gulch and Lick Creek and they both started July 7 and are being fully suppressed. As of Thursday afternoon the Dry Gulch had burned 27,929 acres and the Lick Creek was last mapped at 1,500. Extreme fire behavior was observed on both.
South Idaho Hotshots on the Chatanika River assigned to the Shovel Creek Fire in Alaska. InciWeb. Click to enlarge.
The Shovel Creek Fire, started by lightning about three weeks ago, has spread to about 20 miles northwest of Fairbanks, Alaska. As of July 12 it had burned 23,734 acres and was described as “smoldering” due to recent rain.
The number of personnel assigned dropped yesterday by 118, to bring the total down to 621. That number includes 13 crews, 18 engines, and 7 helicopters. So far $17.8 million has been spent on suppressing the fire.
Crews continued to make progress Friday with mop-up operations on the western and southern fire lines, securing the fire’s edge near Murphy Dome and along portions of the scar from the 2009 Hardluck Fire. Saturday, firefighters will continue mop-up along Old Murphy Dome road and the ridge line north of Perfect Perch to the Chatanika River.
During this break in fire behavior due to the weather, crews have taken the opportunity to scout for fire line opportunities along the Chatanika River north of the fire. As work to secure the northern edge continues, firefighters have kept hose lays, sprinklers, and other equipment in place around the structures along the Chatanika River. Aerial resources will continue to be available to cool hotspots near fire lines, as smoke and fog conditions allow.
Map of the Shovel Creek Fire July 12, 2019.
The rain in the area has cleared some of the smoke. With fire activity north and east of Fairbanks, forecasting air quality continues to be a challenge. Fairbanks Memorial Hospital created a 24-hour smoke respite center in the Chandler Room at 1650 Cowles Street, Fairbanks, AK 99701.
