By Nick Draper
Idaho Falls Post Register (Idaho)
Copyright 2006 The Post Register
All Rights Reserved
Two new fires started Monday afternoon in Yellowstone National Park but were contained within hours.
The Pumice Fire and the Dryad Lake Fire were both sparked by lightning.
Eight firefighters contained the Pumice Fire at 1 acre, and the Dryad Lake Fire was contained at one-tenth of an acre.
Conditions are ripe for wildfires, said Dave Howell, fire information officer for the Bureau of Land Management. A fire weather watch will be in effect around eastern Idaho for a couple of days, he said, adding that low humidity and high wind are the perfect conditions for more fires to ignite, he said.
""If we have some lightning, we could be off to the races,"" Howell said.
Here’s a look at the other fires burning in our area:
Magpie Fire in Yellowstone National Park
Origin: July 17, by lightning
Location: seven miles east of Madison Junction
Size: 1,844 acres
Resources: three personnel
Containment: 0 percent
Closures: Hiking trails near the blaze
Notes: The fire is being monitored, but officials are allowing it to burn. The fire poses no threat to park visitors.
Horse Creek Fire in the Bridger-Teton National Forest
Origin: Thursday, by lightning
Location: Nine miles northeast of Hoback Junction, in the Little Horse Creek Drainage of the Gros Ventre Wilderness
Size: 660 acres
Resources: 35 personnel, one helicopter
Containment: 10 percent
Closures: None
Notes: A local helicopter assisted with bucket drops Tuesday, helping firefighters contain the blaze. The Sawtooth Hotshot Crew from Idaho arrived Monday.
Jim Creek Wildland Fire in the Bridger-Teton National Forest
Origin: June 26, by lightning
Location: 24 miles north of Pinedale, Wyo.
Size: 2,130 acres
Resources: 12 personnel
Containment: 0 percent
Closures: Jim Creek drainage starting at Forest Road 710
Notes: Officials are allowing the fire to burn, but they are monitoring it closely. GPS mapping showed some growth on the southwest edge of the fire during the past several days.
Potato Fire in Salmon-Challis National Forest
Origin: July 27, by lightning
Location: seven miles north of Stanley
Size: 18,454 acres
Resources: 432 personnel
Containment: 85 percent
Closures: The closure for Yankee Fork Road from state Highway 75 to Jordan Creek Road, along with Basin Creek and Hardin Creek roads, has been lifted. Basin Creek, Sawmill Creek, Deadwood Creek and Rankin Creek trails remain closed, but you should check with the local Forest Service office at (208) 756-5145 for specific road and trail closures.
Notes: The public should use extra caution and drive with their lights on when traveling on Highway 75 due to fire equipment using the highway. Also, drivers are urged to slow down in the vicinity of the fire camp and helicopter base near the Yankee Fork Work Center west of Clayton, and use caution on the Custer Motorway between Challis and Sunbeam.
Boundary Complex in Salmon-Challis National Forest
Origin: Aug. 8, by lightning
Location: 14 miles southeast of Landmark, two miles south of the Boundary Creek launch site on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. It consists of several small fires, including the Deer, Elk Horn, Lost Lake and Thicket fires.
Size: 2,643 acres
Resources: 210 personnel
Containment: 48 percent
Closures: There is no public access to the Boundary Creek area. Boundary Creek Road is closed from Poker Meadows to the Middle Fork boat launch site and to Dagger Falls. The Boundary Creek Boat Launch and Campground and the Dagger Creek campground remain closed.
The Middle Fork Complex, including the Trail Creek Fire, in the Salmon-Challis National Forest
Origin: Aug. 9, by lightning
Location: 22 miles north of Stanley
Size: 7,874 acres (Trail Creek is 3,409)
Resources: 78 personnel
Containment: 0 percent
Closures: The Beaver Creek Road - No. 008 and No. 172 - is closed between Cape Horn on Highway 21 to Feltham Creek Point, where the road meets the area closure for the Potato and Trail Creek fires. That closure stretches across an area north of Highway 75 at Basin Creek, up to the Loon Creek Guard Station, east along the Lemhi/Custer county line to the Twin Peaks lookout and south to Highway 75 at Sunbeam.
Notes: This is a cluster of fires, most of which are being allowed to burn because they’re not threatening property. These include the Cub, Norton, Woodtick, Soldier, Thomas, Little Soldier and Big Baldy fires.
The Cub Fire is still burning toward the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. Rafters will probably see flames near Hospital Bar. If you see flames, fire officials are asking that you leave the fire alone - don’t try to extinguish it.
They’re fighting the Trail Creek Fire in rugged terrain. It’s grown to 3,409 acres with no containment in sight. Several structures - the Loon Creek Guard Station, Diamond D Ranch, Lost Packer Mine site and Castro Historic Site - are threatened but aren’t in imminent danger.
Hechtman Lake Fire in Grand Teton National Park
Origin: Approximately Aug. 15 by lightning
Location: West side of the park, in the vicinity of Hechtman Lake and south of Mount Berry, about one mile from the Caribou-Targhee National Forest boundary
Size: 331 acres
Resources: one engine crew, one fire-use manager
Containment: 0 percent
Closures: None
Notes: The fire hasn’t grown since Sunday. The fire is burning in beetle-killed spruce, fir and lodgepole pine. It’s not threatening anyone or anything, so it’s being allowed to burn.
Crystal Fire
Origin: Aug. 15, by lightning
Location: From Aberdeen to Atomic City
Size: 223,700
Resources: 173 personnel, three single-engine air tankers
Containment: 90 percent
Closures: None
Notes: The fire started 10 miles west of Aberdeen but has spread to within 10 miles of Atomic City. The estimated containment date is Thursday.
Stinky Fire in Yellowstone National Park
Origin: Aug. 15, by lightning
Location: 19 miles southeast of Tower Junction
Size: 173 acres
Resources: two personnel
Containment: 0 percent
Closures: None
Notes: The fire is being monitored, but officials are allowing it to burn. The fire is burning in parts of the Clover and Clover-Mist fires of 1988. It poses no threat to park visitors.
Bustle Creek Fire in Grand Targhee Resort
Origin: Monday, by lightning
Location: On the west side of the resort
Size: 2 acres
Resources: about nine people, three engines
Containment: 100 percent
Closures: None
Notes: About 36 people with nine engines contained the fire Monday night. Crews were mopping up the area Tuesday.