09/05/2015 Kaniksu Complex and Tower Fire Update

There will be a community meeting at the Priest Lake Elementary School on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

The Kaniksu Complex, which includes the Tower Fire and six smaller fires, has a total acreage of
26,206 acres and containment of 38 percent as of 6 p.m. Sept. 4. The reduced acreage total of 43 acres is the result of better mapping.

All evacuation alerts have been lifted for areas around the Tower Fire. Forest and road closures are still in effect. Some burning restrictions remain in the forest. Bead Lake Road and Bead Lake Trail are open, as is Bearpaw Road, which is open from its junction with Highway 57 to its junction with Forest Road #318.

After awaking to the first frost of the season, firefighters continued to gain ground on the Tower, Onata Creek and Grease Creek fires on Friday, evidenced by the increase in containment. Temperatures warmed by late morning, and crews spent the day building, reinforcing and mopping up around much of fire’s perimeter. Predicted heavy rain and cool temperatures on Saturday - forecasters are calling for one-half to three-quarters of an inch of rain with high temperatures barely reaching 50 degrees - should enhance those efforts. While the predicted rain will reduce the potential for fire spread or flare-ups, it will also pose difficult work conditions for firefighters due to slippery roads and cold, wet weather.

Here is a roundup of fire activity:

• Tower Fire: 24,329 acres, 34% containment. Located 6 miles northeast of Usk, Wash., and        6 miles west of Priest Lake, Idaho. Water scooping aircraft and helicopters were used to drop   water on the northern perimeter of the fire, where significant heat remains. Dozers were used to open two access roads into the fire. Crews continued direct attack where they could, while patrolling and mopping up sections of line that have been contained.

•  Onata Creek Fire: 546 acres, 91% containment. Located about 8 miles east/southeast of Ione,   Wash. Hand crews continued work where heat remains on the northwest corner of the fire. They completed work on two spot fires north the perimeter. The work resulted in a sizable increase in containment.

• Grease Creek Fire: 609 acres. Located east of Sullivan Lake. Firefighters patrolled the perimeter of the fire with engines where access allowed while securing line and mopping up.

•  Hall Mountain Fire: 39 acres. Located on Hall Mountain. Currently in patrol status.

•  Slate Creek and South Fork Slate Creek Trail fires: 1 acre and 167 acres, respectively. Currently in patrol status.

• Baldy Fire: 515 acres, 100% containment. Located 6 miles north of Ione, Wash. Currently in   patrol status.

Current Resources: The number of personnel on the fire is 789. Resources include: 17 crews, 25 engines, 5 helicopters, 10 dozers, 10 water tenders, 1 Air Attack, 1 skidgen and a variety of fire management and support personnel at the incident base.

Closure and restrictions updates:

•  Idaho burn restrictions: https://www.deq.idaho.gov/air-quality/burning/burn-restrictions-and-bans/

•  Washington burn restrictions: https://waburnbans.net/

•  Idaho Panhandle National Forests closure information:http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/ipnf/learning/safety-ethics/?cid=stelprd3850265

•  Colville National Forest closure information:http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/colville/alerts-notices

•  The Priest Lake, Idaho, area and Hwy 57 are open to all traffic. All businesses along with federal and state campgrounds at Priest Lake are open.

For more information and current maps check: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4508