Salmon-Challis National Forest detects 4 new fires

SALMON, Idaho (KIFI) - The Salmon-Challis National Forest has detected four new fires since the last summary.

Mule Fire (August 23): The fire is estimated at 0.10 acres. The fire, burning in dead/down fuels, is located approximately one mile southwest of Indian Creek airstrip on the Middle Fork Ranger District in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in the 2000 Little Pistol Fire. Two firefighters and one helicopter are on scene working to suppress the fire. 

Spring Fire (August 19): The fire was located approximately 2.5 miles southwest of Long Tom Lookout on the North Fork Ranger District. The 0.10 acre fire, burning in a single tree, was called out on August 20. 

Crane Fire (August 17): The fire is estimated at approximately one acre. The fire is located southeast of Bernard Mountain on the edge of the Middle Fork Ranger District in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in 2010 Little Beaver Complex Fire. The fire is burning in subalpine fir & heavy dead/down fuels. The fire is creeping and smoldering. Firefighter and public safety are the number one priority on the Crane Fire. Due to the remote location of the fire, the steep and inaccessible terrain, and a heavy snag component in the fire area along with the predicted weather, fire managers will be monitoring the fire by reconnaissance flights and ground resources from strategic points outside of the wilderness. Weather permitting, the Forest will have additional information in the coming days. 

Bear Fire (August 16): The fire was located approximately one mile southwest of Bear Mountain on the Challis/Yankee Fork Ranger District. The 0.25 acre fire, burning in lodgepole pine, was called out on August 17. 

Chilcoot Fire (August 11): The fire is estimated at approximately 685 acres burning in spruce and fir. The fire is located approximately two miles northeast of Pistol Lake between Browning and Little Pistol Creeks on the western edge of the Middle Fork Ranger District in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. The Chilcoot Fire is surrounded by previous fires including the Cascade Complex (2007), Kiwah (2018), Pistol (2018), and Buck Fires (2020). Firefighter and public safety is the number one priority for the Chilcoot Fire. When the fire was initially sized up, fire managers initiated actions to suppress the fire. Due to the remote location of the fire, the steep and inaccessible terrain along with lack of safe ingress and egress for firefighters, fire managers changed strategy, keeping firefighter safety in mind. Fire managers will be monitoring the fire by remote camera and reconnaissance flights. Values at risk in the area have been identified and trigger points have been established. If a trigger point is reached, additional actions will be taken by firefighters in order to protect those values at risk. Weather permitting, the Forest will have additional information in the coming days. The Chilcoot Fire can be found on InciWeb HERE. 

Wilson Fire (August 9): The 0.10 acre fire is located approximately six miles northwest of Middle Fork Peak Lookout on the North Fork Ranger District in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. The fire is burning in grass and mountain mahogany in the 2000 Aperejo Fire. The fire is burning in an area with cliffs and is located in steep and rocky terrain. Middle Fork Peak Lookout and aerial resources will continue to monitor the Wilson Fire. 

Hayden Fire (July 19): located approximately 18 miles west of Leadore on the Leadore Ranger District. The fire received substantial precipitation over the last several days and is being updated HERE.

To date, there have been 17 wildfires detected on the Salmon-Challis National Forest. 12 of these fires have been declared out. 

Nationally, there are 56 uncontained large fires being managed under a full suppression strategy and 49 large fires managed under a strategy other than full suppression.