Mcguire Complex Daily Update for 9-26-12
Incident: Mcguire Complex Wildfire
Released: 9/26/2012
Office hours: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Information Officer: Brian Harris
Phone: 208-842-2725 (with answering machine)
E-mail: mcguirecomplex@gmail.com
Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/3219
Photos: www.photobucket.com/mcguirefire
Incident: The McGuire Fire complex was started by a lightning event on August 27, 2012.
Location: One miles west of Dixie, Idaho, two miles south of Orogrande, and four miles southwest of Red River.
Agency Jurisdiction: USDA Forest Service, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests
Cooperating Agencies: Idaho County Sheriff's Department
Incident Command Post: At the former Red River Ranger Station on Forest Road 222.
Current Size: 41,850 acres (148 acre increase) Containment: 5% Structures Threatened: 685
Current Resources: 603 personnel, including 8 crews; 48 engines; 6 dozers; 13 water tenders; and 5 helicopters.
Yesterday's Activities: Helicopters flew about 18 hours and dropped approximately 50,000 gallons of water on the fire near Orogrande and Dixie and on the Herman Fire in the Gospel Hump Wilderness. Crews created direct hand line, direct dozer line, and indirect line on portions of the northeast, east, and southeast perimeter. They also improved and held existing line and mopped up several sections of line along the eastern perimeter. Crews completed structure protection work in the White Water Ranch area. Fire personnel provided information and answered questions on the status of the fire during a community meeting in Dixie; about twenty Dixie residents attended.
Today's Activities: Despite warmer, drier weather today analysts expect fire activity to remain low because of light winds, which will be westerly. The inversion should lift between 10:00 and noon, and the air should be relatively clear. Crews will continue to construct and improve fire lines, chip and remove slash, cut and remove hazardous trees, mop up spot fires, and patrol and monitor less active areas of the fire perimeter. Crews will also continue structure protection efforts upstream and downstream from the White Water Ranch on the Salmon River. Crews on the northeast area of the fire will continue to prep along portions of Forest Road 9838 in an effort to keep the fire out of the Silver Creek drainage east of Orogrande. Heavy-equipment operators will help crews create direct line south of Little Mallard Meadows in an attempt to keep the fire from getting established in the Rhett Creek drainage east of Dixie. The contingency group will continue to scout ahead of the fire for more suppression opportunities.
Evacuations: Residents of Concord, Orogrande, Dixie, Comstock, Mallard Creek Ranch, and Cook Ranch remain under a Stage 3 evacuation. Red River and Red River Hot Springs remain under a Stage 2 evacuation warning. Elk City remains under a Stage 1 evacuation alert.
Road Closures: Road 222 is closed to all access, including residents, from Trapper Creek Road south to the community of Dixie. Conditions permitting, a pilot car will escort residents from the Trapper Creek Road junction into Dixie at 8:00 a.m. each day; the pilot car will leave Dixie at 9:00 a.m. to escort residents to the Trapper Creek Road junction. Forest Road 1190 from Trapper Creek to Dixie Summit is closed to all access, including residents. Forest Road 1190 from Trapper Creek and Forest Road 421 from Red Mail Box to the Whitewater area are closed to all nonresidents. The Crooked River Road, at the junction with Highway 14, is closed to everyone except residents.
Area Closures and Fire Restrictions: An area closure around the fire is in effect for public safety and to ensure unimpeded access for firefighters and equipment. Stage 1 Fire Restrictions are in effect on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests.
