8/2/13  2000 HRS (MST)

REA CLOSURE EXPANDED ON 8/1: The NEW emergency closure order in place that surrounds the fire and associated map can viewed at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3538/ . All forest service roads and trails within this area are closed. There is also a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over the fire.

Stage 1 Fire Restrictions. http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/bitterroot/notices/ cid=STELPRDB5429550

Summary: Firefighters took advantage of yesterday’s rain and today’s cooler temperatures to make progress on catching numerous spot fires on the north side of Magruder road directly north and east of the ranger station. They also worked on a single spot fire east of the Hell’s Half Acre Road. Helicopters used portable water dip tanks installed yesterday along the Magruder road at the historic ranger station and Cayuse Creek to shorten flight time between water drops.

A much larger spot fire has established itself north of the Magruder road at Kim Creek Saddle in an area that is not safe for fire suppression and which is expected to burn towards the north as warmer weather returns. As a result, firefighters continued structure protection work in the Paradise area, including removing snags from the outfitter’s camp and installing sprinklers to protect bridges over the Selway River. Firefighters are trying to keep the fire south of the Magruder road, west of the Paradise road, and west of Hells Half Acre road. Work also started today to create a fuel break east of the fire outside the wilderness. Feller-bunchers are being used to link road systems, natural openings and past fire scars east of the fire in the Tough Creek Saddle area as a contingency line if the fire burns towards the east. Firefighters were doing recon work on roads west of the Painted Rocks area to identify similar, connecting lines of defense. The fire is expected to be a long duration fire event due to fire size, terrain, fuels and normal weather patterns as we enter the prime fire season in the Northern Rockies.

There are 422 personnel assigned to the fire including three Type 1 crews, five Type 2 crews, six helicopters, six engines, two feller-bunchers and one dozer. The fire is now 16,330 acres.

The Goat Fire, located southeast of Salmon Mountain Lookout, has had minimal fire activity. Road Guards on the Magruder road closure are located at Fales Flat campground on the east and Observation Point (Idaho) on the west. Fales Flat campground remains open to the public.

For the latest fire information and photos http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3538/ . Stay in touch with the Bitterroot National Forest through www.facebook.com/DiscoverTheBitterroot andwww.twitter.com/BitterrootNF.

Source:  inciweb.org

 

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