September 2, 2016 – 9 a.m.
Contained: 81%
Size: 1,031 acres
Total Personnel: 405
Resources: Crews: 10 Helicopters: 5 Engines: 13

Victor, ID – A community meeting, held yesterday evening at the Victor Elementary School, was attended by over 50 people. Dave Easton, Operations Section Chief of Great Basin Incident Management Team 5 presented an overview of the fire, followed by Teton County Sheriff, Tony Liford, who announced the lifting of the Level 1 Evacuation Notice previously in effect for residents and property owners near the fire. A reduction in the size of the closed area of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest was announced by Teton Basin District Ranger Jay Pence. The new fire area closure order is posted at: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/4987/

A Red Flag Warning remains in effect today for gusty winds. They should peak during mid – afternoon close to 30 mph.

Yesterday, crews began the process of pulling hose and equipment from areas in the North and East portions of the fire. Several crews were relocated to the bottom of Tie Creek drainage, which remains the most active area. They are working to extinguish hotspots up to 300’ in from the fire’s edge to provide a wide buffer between the fire area and unburned vegetation. Due to late afternoon rain and lightning activity, firefighters were pulled off the fire in the late afternoon.
Today, crews are working deeper in from the fire’s edge cooling hotspots and extinguishing flare-ups. Given the lightning activity over the region yesterday, several crews and engines are on stand-by to assist with any new fire starts that may need additional assistance.

An excavator is working in the Northwest portion of the fire today to repair dozer lines that were put in place during suppression efforts. This repair work entails spreading topsoil from berms across scarified surfaces to smooth out the topsoil. Trees will be then be pushed over or dragged across the lines while limbs and woody debris will be scattered onto the line further conceal the tracks. This work ultimately will help restore channel stream flow and natural drainage when spring runoff occurs. This prevents soil erosion.

A Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team arrives today to identify values at risk and provide recommendations on immediate actions that may be taken to minimize soil erosion. The fire was a light understory burn across most of the fire area, thus few recommendations are expected.

Burn restrictions for Teton County, Idaho are in effect. Until fire conditions improve, burn permits will not be issued and fires requiring a burn permit will not be permitted. Please visit the Teton County Fire and Rescue web page for more information: https://tetoncountyfire.com/.
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.

With the cooler air moving into the area in the next several days, smoke will continue to settle into the valley. Please stay indoors if air quality becomes poor. To view smoke information, visit the Idaho Smoke Blog spot at: http://idsmoke.blogspot.com

Area/Trail Closures: A Tie Canyon Fire Area Closure was reduced in size September 2. Murphy Creek Trailhead and the Powerline Trail to Pole Canyon are now open. Pine Creek Campground is also open. Black Grove Loop Trail remains closed to allow fire equipment safe access as they are still using the road as a primary access point. The new Area Closure Order and Map is located at: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/4987/

Photos:
1: Picture of Area Closure
2. Dave Easton, Team 5 Planning Operations Section Chief Speaks with members of the public to explain what is taking place on the fire as of today. Photo By: Robyn Broyles, PIO