Single Publication

Incident Command: Type 2 Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 4, Rick Connell, I.C.

Estimated Size: 10,780 acres
Containment: 0%
Personnel: 204

Current Status: Yesterday, helicopters were utilized to make bucket drops and slow fire spread along the eastern sides of the Scotch and Russell Mountain Fires. In addition, crews conducted structure assessments and reinforced structure protection equipment on private properties located along the Westside Road. Work started on preparing some old forest roads located to the west of the Westside Road in an effort to prepare a check line or location to slow up fire spread. On the Katka Fire crews continued work on direct perimeter control lines to hold and suppress the fire. The overnight infrared detection flight mapped an increase in size of 1,357 acres on the Complex, with most growth occurring on the Russell Mountain and Trout Fires.

Planned Actions: Helicopter bucket water drops will be conducted on the Scotch Creek, Russell Mountain, Eneas Peak, and Trout Fires if wind and smoke conditions allow for safe flying. Structure protection assessments and preparations on private properties located along the Westside Road will continue. Crews will also continue working on preparing a check line utilizing old roads west of the Westside Road. It is expected to take 2-3 days to get this line preparation work done. A night shift continues to work overnight monitoring structure protection equipment and fire activity. On the Katka Fire a Hotshot crew has joined the Type 2 Crew and together they will work on constructing direct perimeter control line.

Closures: Due to active fires and fire suppression activities, visitors are advised to avoid Ball Creek Road (FR 432), Trout Creek Road (FR 634) and trails. Additional trails to avoid include Russell Mountain (No. 12), Russell Ridge (No. 92), Ball and Pyramid Lakes (No. 43), Pyramid Pass Trail (No. 13), Pyramid Peak (No. 7), Fisher Peak (No. 27), Trout Lake (No. 41), McGinty Ridge Trail (No. 143), Clifty Mountain and Clifty/Burrow Trail (No. 182).
Evacuations: There are NO Evacuations currently in place. However, those living on the Westside Road closest to Ball Creek, Burton Creek, and Clark Creek have been placed in the SET fire evacuation status. SET is the stage of readiness before an actual evacuation takes place. If not voluntarily evacuating already, residents in this stage are advised to at least gather their evacuation supplies or pre-load them into their vehicles to enable a quick exit if evacuation is triggered. When living in fire-prone areas, all residents must have an evacuation plan, including all essential documents, pictures, prescriptions, and pets, and be quickly transportable. Residents of

Boundary County, ID can visit https://www.nixle.com or text their home zip code to 888777 to sign up for emergency alerts. To learn more about READY SET GO, visit https://bit.ly/3wi0jMu . For more tips on defensible space for homes, visit Firewise at https://bit.ly/3PALyeG .

Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR): There is a TFR in place for air space over the Katka Fire (2-1234) and the Scotch Creek, Russell Mountain, Eneas Peak, and Trout Fires (2-1621) to lessen impacts to local aviation operators. Remember that temporary flight restrictions also apply to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones. If you fly, we can’t!

Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8378/
Email: 2022.kootenai@firenet.gov
Facebook: https://facebook.com/USFSIPNF
Boundary County Emergency Line: (208) 696-2626
Fire Information Phone: 208-557-8813