Single Publication

Fire Location 

• Wolf Creek: 5 miles W of Donnelly, ID 
• Boulder: 9 miles SW of Cascade, ID 

Size 

• Wolf Creek: 1,153 acres 
• Boulder: 1366 acres 

Containment 

• Wolf Creek :21% 
• Boulder: 6% 

Personnel 

• Wolf Creek: 136 
• Boulder: 495 

Start Date 

• Both Fires: 7/24/2024 

Cause 

• Both Fires: lightning 

Incident Commander 

Mike Johnston, Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team #7 

Summary: The Boulder and Wolf Creek Fires started on the evening of Wednesday, July 24, 2024. On July 31, an incident management team was delegated the West Mountain Complex which includes Boulder, Wapiti, and Bulltrout Fires on the Boise National Forest, and the Wolf Creek Fire on the Payette National Forest. The team is using a full suppression strategy on these lightning-caused fires. Please avoid high traffic fire areas, slow down while driving, and give the firefighters room to do their work. Be aware of aerial resources and give them plenty of space while recreating on Lake Cascade if they pull water from the reservoir. 

Weather | Anticipated Fire Behavior: Winds will continue out of the northwest today which will be a driver of fire behavior and potential fire spread. Temperatures over both fires will remain in the 70-75° range and winds will decrease slightly. Looking ahead to Saturday, more dry thunderstorms are expected in the vicinity of both fires with a minimal chance of wetting rains. Incident Meteorologist are retrieving site specific forecasts daily to ensure crews have the best data available to them.  

Actions: The Cascade area received several new fire starts on Monday evening on both the Boise and Payette National Forests. Alongside the local unit, the Incident Management Team is coordinating shared resources to staff those new starts. Great Basin Team 7 assumed command of two of those new starts, the Dollar and Snag fires at 6:00 AM today. Firefighter and public safety as well as the protection of values at risk remains the top priority of the team through all suppression efforts.  

Boulder Fire: Crews began firing operations yesterday on the north side of the planned unit and are utilizing the winds out of the northwest to guide the fire back into itself. During burning operations expect to see an increase in acreage daily due to intentional ignitions that will aid fire suppression efforts. Overnight crews continued to assist in firing and are staged along road systems and natural features in the northeast corner to hold the fire. An Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) task force has been flying the south end of the fire to detect hotspots, this added technology will help in the decision-making process when adding additional containment on the map.  

Wolf Creek Fire: Yesterday minimal growth was observed on the fire and heavy equipment worked to create solid lines on the southeast flank to hold the fire through the northwest wind event. Dozer lines have been constructed around the larger spot fires on the northeast side, this is to protect the values at risk on that side of the fire.  On the south, hand crews are mopping up and putting out hotspots which will help to reach additional containment on that side of the fire. On the west side along the Little Weiser River, crews continue to work that flank and secure containment lines. UAS are also being used on this fire for the detection of hotspots.  

Important Information: 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. Near the Wolf Creek Fire, Forest Road #435 (Anderson Lake Road) was closed on August 1.  For more information on closures on the Boise National Forest please visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/boise/alerts-notices