Single Publication

Moose Fire Daily Update for September 24, 2022

This morning a procession will take fallen firefighter Gerardo Rincon to the airport to be flown home. Gerardo succumbed to a medical emergency while fighting the Moose Fire on September 20th. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, and colleagues, as he makes this final journey.

On the fire yesterday, crews were able to grade Diamond Road toward 5 Corners. Firefighters also began assessing possibilities for going direct south of Jackass Ridge to add more containment around that interior edge of the fire.

Today, relative humidity will continue to fall as drier weather moves into the area. However, lower wind speeds and moderate temperatures are expected to keep fire behavior limited to creeping and smoldering over the weekend.

A Wildland Fire Module will continue finding and suppressing hot spots in the Salmon Municipal Watershed. Firefighters are also scouting north of the powerline for opportunities to go direct. Slash removal around the powerline corridor is ongoing and may result in a temporary power outage in the coming days, ideally for less than one day. Idaho Power is in close communication with incident management and will alert customers before this plan goes into effect. Trucks are also hauling logs from the powerline fuel break.

Suppression repair efforts are underway throughout the burned area, where conditions allow. Where they are able, crews are backhauling equipment and are working to further secure Beartrack Mine and Leesburg.

EVACUATIONS: Zone 1 remains in “SET” status today, while Zones 11, 12, and 13 are stable in “READY” status. Beartrack Mine and Leesburg also remain in “READY” status at this time. As a reminder, the evacuation status has been rescinded for Zones 3, 4, 7, 8, and 10. The Incident Management Team will continue to work closely with the Sheriff’s Office to consider changes to the evacuation status. Additional details are at: https://bit.ly/LemhiCountyEvacs 

CLOSURES AND RESTRICTIONS: A Salmon-Challis National Forest closure order was updated on September 19. It reduces the closure area lands north of Williams Creek and Deep Creek Roads, east of Panther Creek Road, and south of North Fork Ranger District/Salmon-Cobalt Ranger District. The closure includes national forest service lands pertaining to certain roads, trails, and a defined geographic area around the fire. See Moose Fire Emergency Area, Road, and Trail Closure, Order #04-13-22-512 for complete description. This closure applies to hunting access, firewood cutting and gathering, fishing, hiking, camping, and other recreational activities.  

      - Public Lands north of the town of Salmon, south of Wallace Creek, and west of the Salmon River administered by the Salmon Field Office, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are              temporarily Closed. 

      -  Stage 1 Fire restrictions are in effect on the Salmon-Challis National Forest, BLM, and State of Idaho lands in Custer and Lemhi Counties, excluding wilderness areas. 

     -  For more information about area hunting units, please visit the Idaho Fish and Game fire map: https://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/maps/realtime/fire/ or the Idaho Fish and Game Salmon Region
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/IDFG.salmon.