|
|
Baker's Camp Fire update:
Fire grows in size; photos and videos available |
|
July 11, 2015 |
 The
Baker's Camp Fire, located on the west side of
northern Boundary County near the end of the
Smith Creek Road, continues to burn. The size of
the fire was listed for several days as 35
acres; however on July 9, as crews made more
progress and safer access allowed for better
mapping, the fire was recalculated to be 44
acres in size.
Burn area increases
Today, however, July 11, fire officials report
actual growth of the fire. "Yesterday's fire
activity brought flare-ups within the
containment line that started spot fires across
the line. With the use of fire retardant and
helicopter bucket drops, crews were able to keep
the spot fires from gaining significant growth,"
these officials state.
They now report the fire at 49 acres in size.
Although 70% contained, the steep, rocky terrain
prevents construction of adequate fireline, so
aircraft are being used to help control spread
of the fire.
In addition, a lightning storm that passed
through the area last night (Friday, July 10)
resulted in new fire starts. "These fires are
being managed by the district office, and
additional firefighters will be arriving to
support the suppression effort," fire officials
say.
This steep terrain makes fighting this fire
challenging, according to fire officials.
Battling the fire
There are now 64 firefighters on the Baker's
Camp Fire, but as noted above, additional
firefighters are
anticipated. Multiple air resources continue to
be used in battling this fire, including several
helicopters for conducting water bucket drops,
and single engine air tankers for dropping fire
retardant.
NewsBF will continue to report information on
this fire in Boundary County as information
becomes available.
Videos Available
The Idaho Panhandle National Forest has posted
short videos of the Baker's Camp Fire, these
videos courtesy of Mike Saint.
®The first is a 15 second video of
a single engine air tanker "Fire Boss" dropping
retardant on the Baker's Camp Fire.
This video can be viewed by clicking
here.
®The second video is a 10 second
video showing a helicopter dropping water on the
fire.
This video can be viewed by clicking
here.
Other fires
Lightning strikes in Boundary County on Friday
evening resulted in additional smaller fires,
including one on the north bench area about six
miles from Bonners Ferry. A photograph of that
fire is included with this story. Firefighting
crews have attended to those smaller fires.
|
|
|
|
Questions or comments about this
article?
Click here to e-mail! |
|
|
|
|
