McCall-area residents endured choking smoke and raining ash following the explosive growth of the Grays Creek Fire last week near Indian Valley in Adams County.
The fire, which was started by lightning on Aug. 30, had grown to 24,0&2 acres by Wednesday. The northeast edge of the fire had closed to within four miles of Tamarack Resort.
A cabin owned by Tom Green of Council was burned the first day of the fire, officials said.
Fire crews made considerable progress early in the week, and had declared the fire 45 percent contained by Wednesday.
Between one-third to two-thirds inch of rain fell on the fire area overnight Tuesday; aiding crews as they built fire lines on the south and east sides of fire and burnout areas as needed, according to official reports.
Many structures in Middle Fork of the Weiser, Fall Greek and Cottonwood Creek remained threatened Wednesday. as did the Cabin Creek Campground, Corral Creek Guard Station and White Licks Hot Springs.
Main roads into the area have been blocked to keep hunters and other visitors out of the area
The cost of battling the Grays Creek fire was estimated to be $3.1' million as of Wednesday:
Fighting the fire were 23 crews of 20 persons each, six helicopters, 19 fire engines. and five bulldozers for a total of 722 workers.
Tamarack takes precautions
The first line of defense against the fire entering Tamarack Resort is an ATV trail that is being widened along the entire length of the resort's boundary, said Ken Rider, director of marketing and sales.
The resort is especially worried about the 13,000 square-foot Mid-Mountain Lodge now under construction half way up the ski area slopes, Rider said.
Water cannons and sprinklers have been moved into place around the unfinished lodge, but construction work was not halted.
The resort cancelled other activities on the mountain, including two groups that planned to visit the resort's zip-line course.
Mountain bikers and hikers also have been asked to stay off the upper trails and keep to the lower meadows, Rider said.
The resort has seen no ash and little smoke from the fire, as prevailing winds have pushed the smoke plume to the north and east, he said.
Guests who have registered to visit Tamarack in the coming days are being advised of the fire but are not being discouraged from making the trip.
Meanwhile, all 320 employees and 200 construction workers remained on the job.
Fire managers praised resort operators for the thinning and climbing of trees around buildings in the resort, Rider said.
"As with any wildfire, there is some anxiety, but it is out of our hands and in Mother Nature's hands," he said.
Think about the worst case Valley County Sheriff Patti Bolen told a community meeting in Donnelly Monday night that residents ought to start thinking about what items they would pack up in case an evacuation is ordered. Bolen advised those attending to make arrangements to remove their livestock and pets.
There is a possibility if weather conditions continue to be windy and dry that the fire could move over West Mountain and endanger people and property in the valley below, Bolen said.
Grays Creek Fire Incident Commander Rich Harvey said he and his
crews would do all they can to get the fire under control, but that they are battling historic conditions driven by low humidity and lack of moisture in fuels brought about by prolonged drought and heat.
The Grays Creek Fire is the nation's number one firefighting priority and Harvey is confident he will get the crews and equipment he requests.
"Nobody has everything they want, everything they need that we'd have in an ideal world, he said. "Heck, if it was an ideal world I would not order firefighters, I'd order rainstorms."
Update on Other Fires
The roadblock on Warren Wagon Road at Secesh Summit was moved back to the Burgdorf Junction on Wednesday.
Burgdorf Hot Springs and Jeanette Campground are now open, but everything else on the east side of the Burgdorf Road, including all trails and other campgrounds, will remain closed.
French Creek Road into the Salmon River area also reopened Wednesday.
The roads are in the vicinity of the East Zone Complex, in which the Zena Loon and Raines fires continue to burn.
The Zena Loon fire, which has burned around Secesh Meadows and Warren, had grown to 169,369 acres by Wednesday, while the Raines fire, burning along the Salmon River, had grown to 75,374.
On Tuesday, the west side of the complex saw between one-quarter to one-half inch of rain. The east side, near the Warren area, received little rain, but higher humidity kept fire growth to a minimum, reports said.
Burnout operations around structures along the South Fork of the Salmon River continued this week.
The Cascade Complex burning around Warm Lake reached 238,334 acres by Wednesday and was declared 30 percent contained. The Monumental and Riordan fires burned together at the head of Pistol Creek.
The blaze was being battled by 653 workers, including 14 crews of 20persons each, 10 aircraft and 30 fire engines. Cost of fighting the blaze had reached $42.2 million by Wednesday.
Power lines between Warm Lake and Yellow Pine that had been damaged by the fire were repaired last Thursday, Idaho Power Co. spokesman Russ Jones said.
A generator that had provided power to Yellow Pine since the poles were damaged was pulled out, Jones said.
However, flames flared back up again Monday and burned two more poles, forcing another blackout, Jones said.
