By Kendra Evensen
Idaho Falls Post Register (Idaho)
Copyright 2006 The Post Register
All Rights Reserved
The Potato Fire continued to tear through the Salmon-Challis National Forest on Monday, forcing people from their homes and threatening historic sites.
Nicknamed for its proximity to Potato Mountain, the lightning-caused fire was discovered Thursday afternoon just north of Stanley. It continued to burn to the north and east and had grown to 3,180 acres by Monday, forest spokeswoman Gail Baer said.
""It is very active,"" she said. ""It’s a large fire and burning in the type of country it is - there’s continuous timber in the area.""
Homeowners were evacuated Sunday afternoon, Custer County sheriff’s officials said, adding that the fire poses a threat to historical sites such as the Custer Museum in the Yankee Fork Dredge area. The number of people forced to leave their homes is unknown, they said. The fast-moving fire has also forced deputies to shut down Yankee Fork Road.
More than 200 people from several agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management, are working to contain the fire.
Combating it has cost about $836,000, Baer said.
They’re utilizing four crews, three helicopters, three engines and two bulldozers, she said.
They’ve asked for three additional helicopters and 13 more crews, but equipment and crews are in demand right now, said Ken Frederick, spokesman with the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise.
The fire season is typical for this time of year, he said, but there are all sorts of problems with grass fires in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and New Mexico. About 2 million acres had been burned by the end of April — a couple of months ahead of the yearly average, Frederick said.
So far in Idaho, the problem has been lightning.
“Over the last three or four weeks we’ve had a lot of lightening — wave after wave of storms,” Frederick said.
That’s what sparked the Potato Fire.
And the forest is ripe for burning, Baer said, because bark beetles have killed many of the lodge pole pines in the area and the dead trees are adding plenty of fuel.
“Saturday and Sunday we had very high winds that pushed the fire,” she said.
With more favorable conditions Monday, officials hoped to have a portion of the fire contained. Though she and her colleagues are concerned about the fire, Baer said it’s not an unusual one.
“It’s very typical,” she said, adding that it’s the only fire in the Salmon-Challis National Forest right now.
“I’m shocked we don’t have more because of the lightening and hot and dry weather we had this weekend,” she said.
Here’s a look at the other fires raging in eastern Idaho:
Jim Creek Fire
in the Bridger-Teton National Forest
Location: 24 miles north of Pinedale, Wyo.
Origin: Began June 26, by lightning
Size: 1,950 acres
Personnel involved: 50
Notes: The fire is being closely monitored, but crews are letting it burn.
Officials are keeping tabs on the fire to make sure it doesn’t spread to any structures or private property.
Magpie Fire
in Yellowstone National Park
Location: Seven miles east of Madison Junction
Origin: Began July 17, cause unknown
Size: 890-acres
Personnel involved: 11
Notes: The fire is being monitored, but officials are allowing it to burn because it isn’t threatening the park’s visitors or property. However, fire danger in the park is high and officials believe it could spread if not closely watched.