9/13/2015 Kaniksu Complex Fire Update

The Kaniksu Complex, which includes the Tower Fire and six smaller fires, has a total acreage of 26,093 acres as of 6 p.m. Sept.11, 2015. The entire perimeter is not identified as requiring containment line. Of that identified for containment, 90 percent of the work is complete.
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. Law enforcement officers are patrolling closed areas and violators may be cited. Please check with local ranger districts for more information.
Despite another hot, dry day, containment lines on all fires in the Kaniksu Complex held firm on Saturday. Firefighters continued working to extinguish hot spots, clear roadways of hazard trees, repair dozer line and mop up containment lines. Crews on the south and east perimeters of the Tower Fire focused on suppression repair, patrolling for hot spots and salvaging logs for timber sales. On the west perimeter, firefighters concentrated efforts on mop up work and hitting hot spots within the dozer line in the Mill Creek area. Crews in engines patrolled the northern perimeter in search of hot spots. The hot weather did produce a slight increase in fire activity on the Grease Creek Fire but there were no breaches of containment lines. Firefighters again patrolled the Onata Fire for hot spots while continuing dozer line repair work on the Baldy Fire. Temperatures are expected to cool slightly Sunday with the relative humidity creeping up but firefighters will likely have another busy day on the line. The incoming Type 3 Incident Management Team, set to assume command of the fire on Monday, will spend the day shadowing the Alaska Type 2 team that has managed the fire for the past month. The more-than 200 military personnel that have been assisting with suppression efforts for the past few weeks were demobilized on Saturday. They will return Sunday to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Here is a roundup of fire activity:

Tower Fire: 24,196 acres, 90% 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 642. Resources include: 17 crews, 14 engines, 2 helicopters, 5 dozers, 1 water tender, 3 skidgens, 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