INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SITUATION REPORT THURSDAY JULY 31, 2003 - 0530 MDT NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL 5 CURRENT SITUATION: Initial attack activity was moderate in the Eastern Great Basin, Rocky Mountain and Southern California Areas and light elsewhere. Nationally, 240 new fires were reported. Nine new large fires were reported, two each in the Northern Rockies, the Northwest and the Southern California Areas, three in the Northern California Area and one in the Eastern Great Basin. Nine large fires were contained, one each in the Northern Rockies, Northern California, Rocky Mountain, and Northwest Areas, two in the Eastern Great Basin, and three in the Southern Area. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. NORTHERN ROCKIES AREA LARGE FIRES: An Area Command Team (Mann) is assigned to manage the Wedge Canyon, Robert, Trapper Creek Complex, Ross Creek and the Little Salmon Creek Complex on the Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park. ROBERT, Flathead National Forest. A unified command between a Type 1 Incident Management Team (Stam) and Flathead County is in place. This fire is in timber, 8 miles north of Columbia Falls, MT. The fire was under a heavy smoke inversion until 1500 hours today. Crews conducted successful burn out operation on the west side of the fire and the containment line on the east side was improved. The fire remains a major threat to communities along the North and Middle Fork drainages of the Flathead River and the communities within Glacier National Park. Evacuations have been implemented in West Glacier and Blankenship Road areas. Structure protection is in place for 200 residences and 24 commercial properties. WEDGE CANYON, Flathead National Forest. A Type 1 Incident Management Team (Bennett) is assigned. This fire is in sub-alpine fir with down fuel, 20 miles east of Eureka, MT. Conditions for extreme fire behavior are in place with very dry fuels and hot, dry weather. Active ground fire with torching, short duration runs and spotting was observed. Crews are making good progress on the southwest side of the fire. Evacuations remain in effect from Moose Creek to the Canadian border. Evacuated residents are being informed daily on the fire’s status through community meetings held each morning and evening. Structure protection is in place for 100 residences. TRAPPER CREEK COMPLEX, Glacier National Park. A Type 1 Incident Management Team (Raley) is assigned. This complex, comprised of Trapper Creek, Wolf Gun and Paul Bunyan fires, is in mixed conifer with dead and down fuels, 45 miles northeast of Kalispell, MT. The Paul Bunyan fire was contained. The major road through Glacier National Park (Going to the Sun Highway) has been closed and the Many Glacier developed area of the park has been evacuated and closed to public use. There is a potential for the fire to spread across the U.S./Canadian border and also into the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, if the fire continues north and east across the Continental Divide. The Trapper Creek fire is moving to the east and the Wolf Gun fire is moving to the north. Fire managers and the Canadian Park Service are developing cooperative suppression and contingency plans. Smoke continues to impact Glacier National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park, B.C. and Lethbridge, B.C., Canada. Ground fires with torching and spotting were observed. Helicopter drops slowed fire spread and prevented fire runs from developing. Structure protection is in place for three commercial properties. ROSS CREEK, Kootenai National Forest. A Type 2 Incident Management Team (Sandman) is assigned. This fire is in sub-alpine fir with tall brush and heavy down fuel loads, 20 miles southwest of Troy, MT. Creeping fire behavior with intermittent single tree torching was observed. Crews continue to build containment lines and mop up on all divisions. The Ross Creek Trail remains closed. BLACK FROG COMPLEX, Bitterroot National Forest. A Type 1 Incident Management Team (Frye) is assigned. This complex, comprised of the Blackwall and Frog Pond fires, is 34 miles south of Hamilton, MT and 32 miles north of Salmon, ID. Higher temperatures lower relative humidity and increased winds have resulted in increased fire behavior on both fires. Individual and group torching was common with increased fire activity in ground fuels. Crews continue to make excellent progress on the south, west and north flanks of the Frog Pond fire and on the north, west and east flanks of the Blackwall fire. Structure protection is in place for 75 residences and one commercial property. Evacuations from Moose Meadows remain in place. Highway 93 is open to piloted public vehicles from 0600 to 2100. Highway 43 is open from Lost Trail Pass, east. SLIMS, Nez Perce National Forest. A transfer of command from Benes’ Type 2 Incident Management Team to Mortier’s Type 1 Incident Management Team will take place today. This fire is in ponderosa pine and mixed conifer, 35 miles east of Grangeville, ID. The main influence on fire spread has been up slope/up canyon winds which continue to push the fire south and east. The fire continues to spread through heavy surface fuels with several major runs and group torching yesterday afternoon. HUNT CREEK FIRE, Priest Lake Area Office, Idaho Department of Lands. A Type 2 Incident Management Team (Kechter) is assigned. This fire is in heavy, cured logging slash, eight miles northwest of Coolin, ID. Active ground fire with single and group torching was observed. Fire activity was fuel and terrain driven. TOBOGGAN, Idaho Panhandle National Forest. A Type 2 Incident Management Team (Gray) has been ordered. This fire is 12 miles northeast of Wallace, ID. Extreme fire behavior with several major crown runs and spotting was observed. HIDDEN LAKE, Beaverhead/Deerlodge National Forest. A Type 2 Incident Management Team (Chrisman) is assigned. This fire is in sub-alpine fire, four miles northeast of Polaris, MT. The eastern front of the fire was active with increased torching which developed a column that rose to 10,000 feet Above Ground Level (AGL). BIG CREEK, Bitterroot National Forest. This fire is in timber, four miles northwest of Victor, MT. Minimal fire behavior with a small amount of torching in the interior was observed. SHASTA, Nez Perce National Forest. A Fire Use Management Team (Bonefeld) is assigned. This lightning-caused Wildland Fire Use (WFU) incident is being managed to accomplish resource objectives. The fire is in Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, and brush, 50 miles northeast of Grangeville, ID. Active ground fire with isolated torching was observed by aerial reconnaissance. INCIDENT NAME ST UNIT SIZE % EST TOTL CRW ENG HELI STRC $$$ CTN CTN PERS LOST CTD ROBERT MT FNF 14,500 5 UNK 903 21 83 6 2 3.6M WEDGE CANYON MT FNF 21,374 25 8/18 1,051 30 69 4 29 7.3M TRAPPER CREEK MT GNP 18,600 35 9/5 197 4 10 3 1 504K COMPLEX ROSS CREEK MT KNF 195 70 8/2 428 15 0 2 0 1.6M BLACK FROG COMPLEX MT BRF 7,500 35 UNK 819 23 26 6 0 5.8M SLIMS ID NPF 5,000 10 UNK 499 15 6 6 0 3.3M HUNT CREEK FIRE ID PLS 475 25 8/1 347 10 6 3 0 739K TOBOGGAN ID IPF 120 0 UNK 87 4 0 1 0 NR HIDDEN LAKE MT BDF 3,500 75 8/2 168 3 0 2 0 2.2M BIG CREEK MT BRF 1,339 80 UNK 187 3 11 2 0 3.9M SHASTA ID NPF 139 N/A N/A 8 0 0 0 0 41K FLANNIGAN ID PDS 190 100 --- 0 0 0 0 0 NR PDS = Ponderosa Area Office Idaho Department of Lands EASTERN GREAT BASIN AREA LARGE FIRES: An Area Command Team (Ribar) is assigned to manage the Cramer and Crystal Creek fires on the Salmon-Challis National Forest. CENTERVILLE FIRE, Northwest State, Utah State Division of Forestry Fire & State Lands. Type 2 Incident Management Team (Broyles) has been ordered. A This fire is in very heavy scrub oak, grass, sub-alpine fir and bug kill timber, at the north end of the city of Centerville, UT. Creeping fire with short runs, crowning and spotting was observed. Structure protection is in place for 100 residences. HOT CREEK, Boise National Forest. A Type 1 Incident Management Team (Sexton) is assigned. This fire is in mixed conifer with heavy fuel loading, three miles west of Atlanta, ID. Occasional torching and short uphill runs were observed. Crews and aerial resources successfully completed two burn out operations today. Evacuations of isolated summer cabins and campers remain in effect. Structure protection is in place for 80 residences and ten commercial properties. CRAMER, Salmon-Challis National Forest. A Type 1 Incident Management Team (Martin) is assigned. This fire is in timber, 20 miles west of North Fork, ID. Minimal fire behavior with some visible smokes was observed. Structure protection is in place for 38 residences. OXKILLER, Caribou-Targhee National Forest. This fire is in grass, sage and juniper, three miles east of Franklin, ID. Creeping fire behavior was observed. Crews made good progress securing containment lines. Minimal Impact Suppression Techniques (MIST) were used in the wilderness. JOE HATCH, Moab Field Office, Bureau of Land Management. A Type 2 Incident Management Team (Suwyn) is assigned. This fire is 25 miles north of Green River, UT. Down slope creeping with isolated torching was observed in Douglas fir and mountain brush. The fire is in extremely rugged and inaccessible terrain. CRYSTAL CREEK, Salmon-Challis National Forest. This fire is in sub-alpine fir, brush and grass, 18 miles north/northwest of Stanley, ID.