Single Publication

The West Mountain Complex includes five fires- Boulder, Snag, Wolf Creek, Dollar, and Goat Fires. Read our daily update for more information. Scroll to the bottom of the page for PDF versions of the daily update, the daily map, and the daily smoke report.

QUICK FACTS
Fire  |  Location  |  Size  |  Containment  |  Start Date
Boulder  |  9 miles SW of Cascade  |  2,313 acres  |  44%  |  7/24/2024
Wolf Creek  |  5 miles W of Donnelly  |  1,154 acres  |  95%  |  7/24/2024
Snag  |  11 miles E of Cascade  |  25,235 acres  |  3%  |  8/5/2024
Dollar  |  18 miles NE of Cascade  |  2,665 acres  |  0%   |  8/5/2024
Goat  |  11 miles SE of Cascade  |  1,963 acres  |  0%   |  8/5/2024

Cause: Lightning (All Fires)
Total Incident Personnel: 1,068

Army firefighting Soldiers from the 14th Brigade Engineer Battalion, based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington continue to assist with suppression repair of the dozer and fireline along the Wolf Creek Fire. Additionally, they are integrated with wildland fire crews to conduct indirect suppression tactics as well as support efforts to secure, hold, and maintain fire control lines within the West Mountain Complex. 

Weather | Anticipated Fire Behavior: 

Windy conditions persisted throughout the day and evening with heavy smoke from the Middle Fork Complex affecting the area. The Red Flag conditions included very low relative humidity ranging from 10 to 22 percent, and winds up to 25 mile per hour. Winds from the south southeast pushed smoke and fire activity towards the northwest. Today weather conditions will de-escalate to Watch Out conditions as the humidity increases and winds die down.  The long-term forecast shows a possibility of up to 1/10th of an inch of rain with colder temperatures for the weekend. 

Boulder Fire: https://tinyurl.com/ycdfv3tv

Firefighting Crews used direct suppression tactics to secure, hold, and cool down spot fires along the southern perimeter of the fire yesterday.  They also continued to secure and increase the depth of fuels reduction efforts along portions on the northern edge of the fire. The interior of the fire containing large logs will continue to smolder and produce smoke for days to come. Today, crews will work to continue to hold containment lines and monitor fire activity along the fire’s perimeter. 

Dollar Fire: https://tinyurl.com/bef6r3tz

The northern reaches of the Dollar Fire continued to progress towards the boundary of the Payette National Forest on Thursday. Rock screes to the west helped to slow down fire growth westward. Engines and Army Crews patrolled these boundaries for hot spots. Firefighters also installed hose lays along the southwestern side of the fire. Firefighters will continue to prepare contingency lines on the western edge to prepare for future firing operations intended to reduce burnable vegetation.

Snag Fire: https://tinyurl.com/4k9dk3mu

Firefighters used direct suppression tactics and aerial resources to address new spot fires on the southern edge of the Snag Fire.  Active fire also persisted north of the Warm Lake Highway as it moved towards the previously burned landscape of the Cascade Complex to the north. Crews will continue to look for opportunities to use firing operations to enhance and secure control lines to prevent movement and impacts to the Clear Creek drainage to the west.  Chippers and masticators (large log demolition equipment) enhanced the progress of fireline construction on the southern boundary of contingency lines. Today crews will continue to check for spot fires and interior heat while patrolling control lines and mopping up the fire’s edge. 

The Valley County Sheriff’s Office is allowing residents and vetted contractors (those who provide services to residents in Warm Lake, Yellow Pine, and Big Creek areas) to enter along the Warm Lake Highway without an escort. The access is dependent on weather and fire activity. The Warm Lake Highway remains closed to the public and will only be open to those approved in advance by the Sheriff’s Office. For more information visit: https://tinyurl.com/mtartvas

Wolf Creek Fire: https://tinyurl.com/mcksrfvh

Firefighters located and secured a single torching tree interior of the perimeter of the northern corner of the fire. Crews continued to enhance rehabilitation efforts along the dozer and handlines along the Weiser Creek drainage. Rehabilitation, and mop up work will continue again today.

Goat Fire: https://tinyurl.com/2h4a3dvr

Smoke from the Middle Fork Complex to the south suppressed fire behavior on the Goat Fire yesterday. The northeast edge of the fire continues to slowly move towards the previously burned fuels of the Cascade Complex. Crews will continue to improve and enhance dozer line on the western side of the fire to create a fuel break to improve contingency lines.                                                  

Other fire information: 

Middle Fork Complex (Nellie, Anderson, and Bulldog Fire): https://tinyurl.com/3rhawr5y 

Wapiti Fire: https://tinyurl.com/yf7reydj 

Bulltrout Fire: https://tinyurl.com/tatwwk5t 

SNAG FIRE EVACUATION INFORMATION

The Valley County Sheriff’s Office issued a “ready” evacuation order for Warm Lake residents and the North Shore Lodge at Warm Lake on August 7. The map can be found on Inciweb: https://tinyurl.com/42auxnk8.  A second “ready” evacuation order was issued on August 8 for the Horsethief area, including the YMCA Camp, and areas of Scott Valley. This map can also be found on Inciweb, with the relevant areas outlined in purple:  https://tinyurl.com/4vfj657x

Review the READY, SET, GO evacuation procedure for Valley County: https://www.co.valley.id.us/ReadySetGo

For timely information on evacuations, check out your county’s emergency alert system. 

• Valley County: https://www.co.valley.id.us/CompleteEmergencyNotificationandAlerting
• Adams County: https://public.alertsense.com/SignUp/PublicUser.aspx?regionid=1077

ROAD CLOSURES

Warm Lake Highway Closure: The Valley County Sheriff’s Office has closed Warm Lake Highway due to the Snag Fire. The Warm Lake Highway is closed at the Horsethief Road intersection east toward Warm Lake and from the Johnson Creek Road intersection west toward Warm Lake. Scott Valley residents will be allowed access. For updates on county closures visit: https://www.co.valley.id.us/departments/SheriffsOffice.

FOREST CLOSURES

Hunting Closures: Prior to entering the backcountry, Idaho Fish and Game advises hunters to check with their local Forest Service ranger district offices or county sheriffs’ offices for fire closures in their hunt areas. For more information visit: https://tinyurl.com/4td8hwzc

The Boise National Forest modified or expanded their wildfire closures on August 12, 2024, to address public and firefighter safety and respond to increased wildfire growth. This closure area begins at the south end of the Dollar/Oro (Snag) fire closure area and continues south to Crouch and the Banks-Lowman Hwy, and east to the 579, 563 and 582 roads.

Wolf Creek Fire Closures: On the Payette National Forest, a closure includes popular National Forest System roads around the Wolf Creek fire such as: sections of NFS Road #1763 (West Mountain Jeep Trail), #835, #206, and #326. On the Boise National Forest, Forest Road #435 (Anderson Lake Road) was closed on August 1. 

Boulder Fire Closures: The Boise National Forest has issued a closure order #0402-04-98 for National Forest System (NFS) roads, trails and lands encompassing the Boulder Fire. The closure was enacted to protect public safety and support fire suppression activities. The closure includes Blue Lake and Snowbank Mountain Road (#446) along with all #404 and #421 system roads. 

For maps and more detailed descriptions of the closures on the Payette National Forest, please visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/payette/alerts-notices

For maps and more detailed descriptions of the closures on the Boise National Forest, please visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/boise/alerts-notices 

Fire Restrictions: Stage 1 Fire Restrictions have been issued for the Payette Fire Restrictions Area on the Payette National Forest and the West Central Mountains Fire Restrictions Area on the Boise National Forest. For more information on the restrictions and a very helpful interactive map, visit https://www.idl.idaho.gov/fire-management/fire-restrictions-finder/

Important Links

• Payette National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/payette
• Payette National Forest Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PayetteNationalForest
• Boise National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/boise
• Boise National Forest Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoiseNationalForest
• Idaho Department of Lands: https://www.idl.idaho.gov/fire-management/