Fire update Sept. 13

BOUNDARY COUNTY —- As of the morning of Tuesday Sept. 13 the Kootenai River Complex fires are estimated to be at 19, 708 acres and 79 percent completion.

The Type 2 Northern Rockies Incident Management Team officials wrote in a press release that 346 personnel are working on the fires.

Completion is a newer phrase in Wildland Fire, it relates to the rate at which certain parts of the incident objectives have been completed, Incident Management officials wrote. The completion percentage represents the rate at which firelines have been completed alongside and using the Westside Road. A fireline is a line of varying width constructed in the area within or adjacent to the perimeter of an uncontrolled wildfire to create the safest and most effective area where action can be taken to contain the fire.

Sept. 12, smoky and hazy skies and light winds kept fire activity minimal. The Russell Mountain and Katka Fires continue to burn at low intensity with backing ground fire moving slowly downhill.

Firefighters continued to improve fireline, thin vegetation along Westside Road, and remained in place during both the day and night shifts to hold and suppress the fire as it reaches the fireline and Westside Road between Trout Creek and Ball Creek Road. Due to cloud cover, the overnight infrared detection flight was not able to fly last night and therefore no change in fire size was recorded today.

Crews will continue to work along several parts of the Westside Road to thin out vegetation and make the roadside more defensible for when the fire reaches the road. The fire is expected to continue backing downhill towards the fireline and Westside Road. The Structure Protection Group will test pumps, hose, and sprinklers to make sure the areas around private structures remain prepared for when the fire arrives. The Katka Fire will be monitored throughout the day. Helicopters are available to be used for water delivery as needed however, smoke conditions will likely prevent flying.

The weather today will be cloudy with smoke and haze. The smoke might start to clear out a little by mid-afternoon. Temperatures in the valley will be 75-81 degrees with minimum Relative Humidity levels at 35-45%. Winds will be light from the south at 3-6 mph.

Due to active fires and fire suppression activities, the Westside Road is restricted to residents-only. Additionally, the following National Forest Trails are now closed: Ball Creek Road (FR 432), Trout Creek Road (FR 634), Russell Mountain (No. 12), Russell Ridge (No. 92), Ball and Pyramid Lakes (No. 43), Pyramid Pass (No. 13), Pyramid Peak (No. 7), Fisher Peak (No. 27), Trout Lake (No. 41), McGinty Ridge (No. 143), Clifty Mountain and Clifty/Burrow (No. 182), Myrtle Peak Trail (No. 286), and Burton Peak Trail (No. 9).

Evacuations: There are still no evacuations currently in place. However, those living on the Westside Road closest to Ball Creek, Burton Creek, and Clark Creek have been placed in the SET fire evacuation status. SET is the stage of readiness before an actual evacuation takes place. Residents of Boundary County, Idaho can visit https://www.nixle.com or text their home zip code to 888777 to sign up for emergency alerts. To learn more about READY SET GO, visit https://bit.ly/3wi0jMu .

Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR): There is a TFR in place for air space over the Katka Fire (2-1234) and the Scotch Creek, Russell Mountain, Eneas Peak, and Trout Fires (2-1621) for aviation safety. Remember that temporary flight restrictions also apply to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones.