Thunderstorm passes over Rabbit Foot Fire igniting more flames

A thunderstorm passed over the fire area Friday with lightning that created more fires in the area.

One of the flames in Pahsimeroi Valley is estimated at 100 acres. Three Type 1 helicopters assigned to the Rabbit Foot Fire assisted with water drops on that fire. Crews will find out if there were more lightning caused fires from Friday’s thunderstorm as temperatures on Saturday warm up.

Some areas of the Rabbit Foot Fire received up to .25 inches of rain Friday, which helped to moderate some fire activity.

As of Saturday, the fire has grown to 34,512 acres and remains at 0 percent containment.

Crews continue to improve to dozer lines and roads near the fire perimeter, so firefighters will have safer and more opportunities to directly contain it.

More than 30 miles of existing roads have been improved using mechanized equipment and 20 miles of old dozer lines from previous fires have been reopened. As of Saturday, helicopters have dropped a total of 433,479 gallons of water on the fire to slow its growth.

Crews priority on the fire is to apply strategies and tactics to lower the risk and exposure to the firefighters. According to a Rabbit Foot Fire news release, fighting the fire directly in the dense timber that exist on the fire is “inefficient” and “pose high risk” to firefighters.

Crews currently have 50 percent of indirect lines and improved roads completed. As they slowly bring the fire to containment lines, it reduces the risk to firefighters by giving a safer space from which to engage the fire.

Stage One fire restrictions remain in effect on the Salmon-Challis National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, and State lands.

Temporary Flight Restrictions for non-incident aircraft including drones will be updated to reflect fire growth on the south flank.

The Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office is closely monitoring the situation and will notify residents if Level 1 or Level 2 pre-evacuations are ordered.