Hayden Fire 83% contained

LEADORE, Idaho (KIFI) - The Hayden Fire has been mapped at 24,489 acres acres and is burning in steep and difficult terrain with spruce/subalpine fir containing a heavy dead/down timber component.

The fire started on July 19 and is located in the Lemhi Range, 18 miles west of Leadore, Idaho.

The fire is 83% contained, and the cause is undetermined. 

On Sunday, showers and thunderstorms began to develop over the Lost River Range and the Pioneer Mountains to the west of the fire. Several portions of the fire received 1/10^th to 1/5^th inches of rain. Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms will be possible again today along with more cloud cover. As a result, temperatures will be 2 to 4 degrees cooler than Sunday. Winds are expected to become more westerly with gusts of up to 20 mph along the ridges and around any showers. Initial attack firefighters responded to a smoke report near Tendoy and were prepared to respond to any other reports of lightning-started fires within the area. Aircraft assigned to the incident took part in a forest-wide flight to detect new starts.  

The implementation of the suppression repair plan started yesterday on the north and east portions of the fire. On these portions of the fire, firefighters are transitioning from active suppression and clean-up. This effort will repair the areas where there have been disturbances of the ground created by either heavy use of vehicles, hand tools, or heavy equipment. Suppression repair consists of returning disturbed locations such as firelines, staging areas, and helipads to their natural state where possible. 

Members of the Great Basin Incident Management Team 4, community leaders, and agency representatives will be on hand to provide an overview of fire suppression activities and answer questions. The event will take place Wednesday, August 9, 7:00 p.m. following the City Council Meeting at Leadore Community Center, 206 S Railroad Street. It will also be streamed via Facebook Live on the Salmon-Challis National Forest page. 

The Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office, in coordination with the local agencies and incident management team have pre-identified evacuation zones. The evacuation status is continuously evaluated and will be lifted when officials determine it is safe to do so. Please visit the Lemhi County website at www.lemhicountyidaho.org for a map and explanation of the zones. 

For the safety of firefighters and the public, the Salmon-Challis National Forest has enacted an area closure around the Hayden Fire. A map and description of the closure area can be found HERE.

Stage 1 Fire Restrictions are in effect in areas managed by the Salmon-Challis National Forest, Idaho Department of Lands, and the Bureau of Land Management. For more information, please consult Salmon-Challis National Forest’s Alerts and Notices HERE.