Firefighters enjoyed favorable weather most of the weekend on the Rock Fire, but a drying trend this week is expected to ramp up fire activity, according to the Boise National Forest.
The fire, caused by lightning last Tuesday, was up to 2,673 acres as of Monday morning, as nearly 600 firefighters continued working to contain the fire. Containment, however, remained at 0% on Monday afternoon.
“Containment will be reached when fire managers are confident that fire will not cross over the containment lines created along the edge,” the Boise Forest said in a news release.
The Rock Fire grew to 1,900 acres within 24 hours of igniting on Aug. 12, compared to about 800 acres of growth since. A fleet of helicopters and airplanes has dumped 348,714 gallons of water on the fire, plus another 577,603 gallons of fire retardant.
“On the ground, firefighters remain actively engaged, using hoses, dozer lines, and handlines to strengthen containment by creating buffers in areas with thicker vegetation,” the Boise Forest said in a news release.
Tamarack line holding, for now
Firefighters have so far managed to hold the main fire line at Tamarack Resort’s Upper Bliss Ski Run, which is on the southern boundary of the ski area. The fire started about 1.5 miles south of the resort, but by Thursday had burned to the boundary.
“We have crews picking up spot fires direct and completing dozer lines in that area and improving those lines,” said Matt Armantrout, Planning operations for Great Basin Team 6.
Crews have also been building containment lines between the fire’s eastern edge and homes along West Mountain Road, Armantrout said.
“Fire crews are prepping structures, assessing structures, and getting those structures prepared for…the fire that may threaten the structures as it comes down into that area,” he said.
Protective measures include staging water handling equipment and setting up sprinkler systems.
Three evacuation zones along West Mountain Road remain under Valley County’s “Ready” designation, meaning residents of the zones should stay alert for updates and consider evacuation plans.
Meanwhile, Tamarack is slowly resuming resort operations, with the Osprey Meadows Golf Course re-opening over the weekend. Mountain biking, ziplining, whitewater rafting, and the resort’s marina remain closed.
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Shifting weather
The weather over the weekend assisted firefighters with high humidity and even a tenth of an inch of rainfall on the fire, according to Spencer Tangen, the incident meteorologist.
That, however, is expected to change this week.
“We’re going to get into a little bit of a drier and warmer pattern heading into (Monday) and then especially later into the week we’ll continue to dry out and warm up with breezy afternoon winds,” Tangen said.
The Boise Forest said it is expecting increased fire activity this afternoon amid rising temperatures and gusts of wind up to 25 miles per hour from the southwest in the fire zone.
Personnel working the fire have increased from about 100 people the day after it was ignited to about 575 personnel currently. That includes 14 hand crews, 23 engines, 14 pieces of heavy equipment, five helicopters, and a fleet of tanker airplanes.
