Tie Fire Update September 1st 2016

Victor, ID – There will be a community meeting tonight, September 1 at 7:00 p.m. at Victor Elementary School, 43 East Center Street, Victor, ID. The Incident Management Team will provide a fire update while the Teton County Idaho Sheriff and Caribou-Targhee National Forest will address the emergency evacuation notice and the area fire closure currently in effect for the Tire Fire. All are welcome to attend.
A Red Flag Warning is in effect today for gusty winds and dry thunderstorms. The chance of isolated scattered thunderstorms will be the highest in the afternoon. Wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible and little to no rainfall is expected. The forecast Friday calls for even stronger winds ahead of the cold front, bringing with it cooler temperatures.
Containment lines on the south and east flanks are nearly complete. Firefighters are using over 17 miles of hose to extinguish hot spots along the fire’s perimeter. They are working three hose lengths (100’ per length) into the fire’s edge to ensure embers thrown by torching trees do not drift across containment lines. An additional 30% of the fire edge is secure, bringing the total containment to 74%.
Strong southerly winds associated with thunderstorms will test portions of the fire that have heat remaining the next couple of days. Interior pockets of heat in the deeper areas of Tie Canyon are the focal point for firefighter now. By reducing the number of flair ups that occur when trees torch, firefighters are able to minimize the chance of embers spotting outside the line.
As more area of the fire becomes contained and firefighters feel more confident that it is safe to remove equipment, the hoses, pumps, gas and fold-a-tanks will be backhauled. An excavator will be used to assist with repairing dozer lines, which will help make containment lines look more natural. The Team is also starting to release resources that will be free to go to other fires in need of help.
Burn restrictions for Teton County, Idaho are in effect. Until fire conditions have improved, burn permits will not be issued and fires requiring a burn permit will not be permitted. Please visit the Teton County Fire & Rescue web page for more information: https://tetoncountyfire.specialdistrict.org/.
There are no fire restrictions in place on the Caribou – Targhee National Forest in Idaho; however, open burning is not allowed in Teton County, Wyoming. For more information about Idaho Fire Restrictions, visit:http://www.idahofireinfo.com/p/fire-restrictions.html. Information about Wyoming fire restrictions can be found at: http://www.tetonwyo.org/fire. Hunters are asked to be extremely cautious with any open flames.
The Pioneer Fire, burning north of Boise, has grown several square miles in size the past several days. This extreme fire behavior is producing smoke that is drifting over eastern Idaho. In addition, fires being managed to accomplish a number of objectives are also burning on the Forest. As the low pressure system moves through, smoke may stay longer in the valley. To view smoke information, visit the Idaho Smoke Blog spot at:http://idsmoke.blogspot.com
Teton County Idaho Teton County Fire & Rescue City of Victor U.S. Forest Service – Caribou-Targhee National Forest