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Thanks for keeping us posted. Last year's fire season was very hard on North Idaho, and it was a harrowing experience to be in the middle of it. Sending cool, rainy thoughts to all the affected areas....
The Henry canyon fire is as stubborn as all getouts.
It has now burned 72,000 acres, and as of last night was only about 25% contained.
It's now headed eastward, toward the Wyoming border, and a fire broke out a couple of days ago in Teton Natl. Park. If they combine, it could burn until either a week or rain or the first snow puts it out, and could potentially spread on either side of the border into Yellowstone, or even all the way up to the Montana border.
it was very smoky here again yesterday, and I don't expect the air to clear until the fire is more under control. Yesterday the air quality rating was Poor to Stay Indoors Because it's Crappy Outside. It's not as thick, however as some of the smoke we've gotten from fires that didn't burn here- when Yellowstone burned in 1988, the air here was so thick that the sun looked purple, and visibility in town was less than a block. It stayed that way for almost a full month.
So far, few homes have been threatened, but a lot of grain fields have been wiped out, along with some livestock, and the fire is going to raise hell with some of Idaho's best trout spawning streams and grazing for our deer, elk, buffalo and moose. The deer especially come down from the high country to graze on the cut fields in late Autumn that have close boundaries to the 3 national forests we have here. Gonna be a hard winter for a lot of them.
My bro and I were very worried about our ranch, which was southeast of the fire's origin, and though it didn't come down that far, it could have if the winds had changed direction. He drove into some range that lies due north of ours about 17 miles, and said everything in and around the canyon he drove into was totally burned down to the ground in all directions for as far as he could see.
It's the biggest range fire I've ever seen here by far. Right now, there are over 200 hotshots and at least 6 helo fire bombers working on it. I haven't seen any airplanes; I think only a helo can get into a lot of the rough country the fire's burning.
Another Red Flag weather day forecast for NID tomorrow with low humidity, winds, and a little warmer temps. I got another whiff of smoke here in Sagle today, don't know if that's coming from the fires around Spokane or somewhere else.
We appreciate both of you checking on others outside of NID. Boise Bound too.
Fortunately, our temps have been abnormally low (like 20 degrees lower than normal). No one is complaining as the lower temps help the firefighters here. We're at 51,000+ acres but 37% contained. The Incident Commander who took over yesterday from the Great Basin Center said this is the most aggressive fire he's seen this year! We now have 450 firefighters, up about 80 more than yesterday.
The fire got a little bit of rain yesterday. That helped some as it didn't grow as much as it could have overnight. But officials from both Bingham and Jefferson Counties, the adjoining Counties, attended the public meeting last night. This fire has three different fire tips. It could easily jump to either of those counties, with Bingham only 6 miles from what appears now to be the most aggressive point.
Unfortunately, we are forecast to have temps easily 10-15 degrees warmer this weekend, with winds and of course dry. The winds by the fire have just started again for tonight.
Bonneville County was declared a disaster area yesterday by Gov. Otter. That allows FEMA to come in with additional equipment. Cleosmom has a awesome pic of one of the huge helicopters! Maybe she'll post it here. She got that pic in her back yard.
The very bizarre thing for me is this weekend is the National Parks 100th Anniversary. Anyone can go to a National Park or National Monument for free. We have 2-3 fires at Yellowstone N. P., a 3,000 acre fire by the Tetons and a fire at Craters of the Moon National Monument. Roads are open, including Highway 26 between Idaho Falls to the Tetons and essentially Jackson Hole. Fires on three sides of us, but for now people could be they are doing fairly well.
I won't be surprised if we get additional, non-announced help this weekend. It just so happens the Fed, Fed Chief Janet Yellen, all the Big Banks, and some others are all meeting in Jackson Hole. While the smoke in Jackson is probably from Tie Vaĺey fire near Victor, and the Tetons, and the Berry Fire, no way the federal government is going to let any of these fires pose a risk to those in Jackson Hole.
Dave, you can check the Spokane Fire here. Just click Spokane. Or you can go to the list and select WA and check for others. Click on the fire name and details are available. These get updated as needed. Click on the pics to see the size and where it is going.
As you may have seen before, Inciweb.nwcg.gov, is the great website that gives up to date info, as it is updated. The Spokane info had been updated just 7 min. ago.
Henry's Creek info is an hour old. We'll get another update later. Here's the info. Also, if you haven't done it click on the diagram of the fire. It is impressive!!
Good News!! Somehow the increased fire crews (443) made some huge gains in the past 12 hours We've gone from 37% to 55% contained. If you click on the fire map it looks like they got the three heads of the fire stopped!!
We could get some wind today in the fire areas. Hotter temps today but if the wind will let the increased personnel and machinery do their best today, I believe they will have more conquered in 12 hrs.
Here's something that will scare your socks off!
The Roaring Lion fire in Hamilton, Montana, taken by a nest cam. Hamilton is just southwest of Missoula.
Here's something that will scare your socks off!
The Roaring Lion fire in Hamilton, Montana, taken by a nest cam. Hamilton is just southwest of Missoula.
I don't know, Cleosmom.
It's time lapsed, but it can't be compressed too much. I watched the blue sky the second time I watched it, and the sky never darkened, as it always does when the hour begins growing late, so it must have been only a matter of a few hours at most.
A friend in Missoula sent it to me. Everyone there said it blew up like a bomb, and this is in the heart of fire country. No one had seen the likes of it for decades.
It's really dry out there, folks. Be very, very careful with anything that has the potential of starting a fire, including shooting. A ricochet off a granite rock could send off fire-starting sparks right now.
In past fire years, the fires have been beasts. This year, they are monsters. The Henry's Canyon fire down here is the largest in living memory, and it's still going.
This morning's Post-Register made a mention of a big fire problem in Idaho. The state is riddled with 'no-man zones', where a fire that breaks out on private land, land that lies along county boundaries, or is un-accessable, often delays early response to it. Each county in the state has its own fire protection zones, but when a fire breaks out in a 'no-man's land', who responds first is often a matter of confusion.
In the Henry's Canyon fire, Bonneville and Bingham counties both thought the other was responding first, and there is no local fire protection in the area at all. There are only a few large estate-type homes in a small rural subdivision less than a mile away, and there are no farms in the immediate surrounds of the canyon.
The homeowners all rushed to protect their properties first, and the flood of fire reports from all over only added to the early confusion.
By the time the fire fighting actually began, both county's first-response teams showed up around the same time, both hours later than they could have, if the area had not been a 'no-man's land'.
Their response was highly professional; those crews nearly killed the fire before it had a chance to get going. A couple of hour's time difference may have been enough to stop it in its tracks.
This situation abounds everywhere in this state. Most wildfire starts are put out quickly when they are within a well-defined zone of first-response responsibility, but all our gulches, gullies, ravines, and large rocky patches that are unsuitable for anything but being wild are just as prone to fire as any other terrain, but lack any organization as to who and how a first response is conducted.
Henry's Canyon is typical of terrain all over this state. Getting in to fight the fire where it started was impossible for a tanker truck, and neither county had a fast-response aircraft available to water bomb it. Once the winds kicked up, no county crews could outrun it to flank the fire and cut it off.
The same was true for the farmers. There were areas where a tractor could get down (or up) to where the fire was, but not with a set of plows hitched to it. And tractors are not built for speed. The arial shots of the fire show very clearly where the farmers were able to sink their plows and cut fire lines around their fields and where they were unable to out-run the fire.
In the panhandle, were most of the country isn't as open, a fire could break out on a prairie and leap into timber in the wink of an eye, just as it did with the Roaring Lion fire. As you can see from the terrain, the best farmer couldn't cut a fire line in that one, no matter how skilled. All they could possibly do was keep the valley from lighting up.
One thing that has helped wildfire suppression greatly in Montana is the requirement that any homeowner who wants fire suppression out in the forest has to build a water containment of at least 30,000 gallons- a pond, tanks, or whatever- and a road wide enough for 2 fire trucks to pass each other, going and coming, and a circular drive surrounding the water containment.
This allows crews to suppress a fire surrounding a cabin or larger property. If any are lacking, it's up to the property owner alone, and if evacuation is called, the owner has to decide whether to stay and burn or leave fast.
And this does not offer any protection from a fire like Roaring Lion, where there were no homes at all. All that was up there was a hiking trailhead and a lot of very dry trees.
Some folks gripe about many newcomers moving in and building new homes in our forests, but if Idaho had a similar law, those newcomers could easily save a neighbor or two from a fate they all would share when a fire started. Maybe more population isn't such a bad thing after all, especially in all our 'no-man's lands'.
I've debated at times what to post here. I'm aware some are not visiting Eastern Idaho due to the fires. My honest feeling is these people weren't going to visit anyway. Anyone considering moving to Idaho who is not aware of the western states fires hasn't done his/her research. Last year it was WA state and northern Idaho. This year to date, the Henry's Creek Fire in Bonneville County is the largest in the County's history.
Be aware and search for the Pioneer Fire in the Boise National Forest for the air quality too. It's the largest in the state. It's one thing to reschedule a visit due to air quality. It's quite another to compare states, or not, based on current fires.
Those serious about ID will get more information, before posting some of the ignorant, IMO, 10% -40% researched information some have posted in other threads the last 48 hours. Current posts don't tell the entire history of any area.
One fire to note is the wildfire that broke out close to the Teton entrance to Yellowstone Park.
This fire has blocked that highway, so any tourist who wants to enter Yellowstone through the Teton Park entrance will have to go over the Teton Pass outside of Wilson, which will take you to Victor, idaho. From there, a drive north to Ashton will put you into the Island Park area, which in turn will take you to the West Yellowstone entrance to the park. This entrance is not in any fire danger.
The drive will require about 2 hours or more of travel time, depending on the traffic. There are plenty of places to stop and refresh if needed, and it's a nice, scenic drive.
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We've gone from 37% to 55% contained. If you click on the fire map it looks like they got the three heads of the fire stopped!! 
