9/12/2015 Kaniksu Complex Update

The Kaniksu Complex, which includes the Tower Fire and six smaller fires, has a total acreage of 26,198 acres and containment of 79 percent as of 6 p.m. Sept.11, 2015.
Residents and visitors are reminded that parts of the Colville and Idaho Panhandle National Forests are still closed to the public for the safety of all. Please check with local ranger districts for more information.

Another day of hot, dry weather produced increased fire activity on the Tower Fire on Friday. Helicopters and water-scooping aircraft were used to subdue hot spots that surfaced on the western and northern perimeters. Hotshot crews completed indirect line on the northern tip of the fire while also seeking out hot spots. On the southern half of the fire, crews continued to patrol, mop up and reinforce containment lines. Firefighters on the Grease Creek Fire spent the day patrolling saw lines, searching for hot spots and brushing out roads to be used as potential fire breaks. Crews patrolled the Onata Fire looking for any remaining heat. On the Baldy Fire, crews completed rehabbing hand lines and worked on repairing dozer lines. With even hotter, drier conditions forecast for Saturday, containment lines could once again be tested.

Fire managers, meanwhile, are determining the amount and type of containment line to be utilized on fires within the complex. Always working with the primary objective of firefighter and public safety, managers have identified areas of limited threat where minimal action for constructing line will be taken. Places where natural barriers will prevent the fire from spreading, areas with rugged, treacherous terrain that have not had recent, significant fire activity and other areas identified as having an unacceptable risk-to-benefit ratio for firefighters to safely secure line are examples. In these areas fire crews have built contingency lines that can be quickly defended should fire activity increase.

Suppression repair of existing containment line is underway on several of the complex’s fires. Land managers working with fire managers determine the level of suppression repair that will minimize the impact from past firefighting activities. An effort is made to leave the area as natural as possible. This is done by removing hazardous tree snags, cutting stumps flush with the ground, chipping brush piles, and rehabilitating dozer and hand line to minimize erosion. As this work is being done, crews recover pumps, hoses and other suppression equipment used during firefighting.

Here is a roundup of fire activity:

Tower Fire: 24,301 acres, 84% containment. Located 6 miles northeast of Usk, Wash., and 6 miles west of Priest Lake, Idaho.

 Onata Creek Fire: 546 acres, 100% containment. Located 8 miles east/southeast of Ione, Wash. This fire is in patrol status.

 Grease Creek Fire: 629 acres, 19% containment. Located east of Sullivan Lake.

 Hall Mountain Fire: 39 acres. Located on Hall Mountain. This fire is in patrol status.

 Slate Creek and South Fork Slate Creek Trail fires: 1 acre and 167 acres, respectively. Located near the northwest boundary of Salmo-Priest Wilderness.

 Baldy Fire: 515 acres, 100% containment. Located 6 miles north of Ione, Wash.

Current Resources: The number of personnel on the fire is 673. Resources include: 17 crews, 15 engines, 2 helicopters, 5 dozers, 2 water tenders, 3 skidgens, 3 Blackhawk helicopters for medical emergencies, and a variety of fire management and support personnel at the incident base.

Closure and restrictions updates:
 Idaho Burn Restrictions: http://idahofireinfo.blogspot.com/ or http://firerestrictions.us/

 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

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