Single Publication

Fire Location 

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

Size 

• Wolf Creek: 1,054 acres 
• Boulder: 1493 acres 

Containment 

• Wolf Creek :46% 
• Boulder: 6% 

Personnel 

• Wolf Creek: 168 
• Boulder: 494 

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. Great Basin CIMT2 is mobilizing and will take command of the West Mountain Complex on Saturday, August 10th at 6:00 am. 

Weather | Anticipated Fire Behavior: Relative humidity did not recover last night, meaning that it did not rise significantly during the cooler nighttime hours. There was not enough water vapor in the air to moisten vegetation and other fuels. Dry air and dry fuels can lead to increased fire activity.

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 increase slightly from previous days to the mid-70s. Looking ahead to Saturday, more dry thunderstorms are expected in the vicinity of both fires with a minimal chance of wetting rains. 

Actions: The Cascade area received several new fire starts on the evening of August 5th on both the Boise and Payette National Forests. Great Basin Team 7 assumed command of two of those new starts, the Dollar and Snag fires at 6:00 AM yesterday. 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: After the efforts over the last two days, no other burning operations were initiated yesterday. Last night, crews strengthened existing handline and dozer line. The intended footprint of the burn operations has shrunk, remaining west of South Fawn Creek drainage. Today, firefighters continue to mop-up along the southern flank of the fire perimeter. Mop-up consists of looking for areas of flame and heat that are near the perimeter of the fire and making sure that they are extinguished, similar to stirring a campfire to make sure it is cold. Firefighters will continue to monitor the west perimeter of the Boulder Fire, which has not grown much in that direction due to natural barriers such as loose, rocky slopes.

Wolf Creek Fire: Yesterday, crews completed handline and connected the dozer lines on the northeast area of the fire that were finished yesterday. Other crews moved water pumps along the Little Weiser River, ensuring they are in the best areas to support the existing handline. The pumps, hose lay, and handline have been a demanding effort by these crews over many days, and its completion marks an achievement in this area.

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 

On the Payette National Forest, a closure including popular National Forest System roads around the Wolf Creek fire such as: sections of NFS #1763 (West Mountain Jeep Trail), #835, #206, #326. For a map and more detailed description of the closure please visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/payette/alerts-notices 

For the Wolf Creek Fire, the Valley County Sheriff’s Office has issued a “ready” evacuation order for residents in Zone 7 and Zone 8. The “ready” status means that there is a threat or hazard to your local area. At this level, residents should be thinking about their evacuation plan and monitoring trusted news sources for any change in evacuation status. Maps and additional information on the evacuation status can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/5n7kbuy6 

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

 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/.