Extreme fire behavior prompts expanded St. Joe Ranger District closures

AVERY — Recent growth of the Tumbledown wildfire in the St. Joe region of Shoshone County has prompted new closures of the St. Joe River Road.

IPNF Public Information Officer Kary Maddox explained in a Wednesday night press release that all the fires within the Stateline Complex were impacted by hot, windy weather on July 31. Above average temperatures, 25 mph winds, and near-record-low fuel moisture of approximately 3% all combined into dangerous conditions that brought about rapid fire growth.

The Tumbledown fire, the largest fire within the complex that has burned 9,478 acres and is 0% contained as of Aug. 5, made a nearly 5-mile wind-driven western run down the St. Joe River that exceeded existing closure boundaries. Fire personnel and the Shoshone County Sheriff's Office asked several campers in the Tin Can Flats area to evacuate the following morning.

Factoring in recent fire behavior and growth, effective Aug. 3, a new area closure includes the headwaters of the St. Joe River from Avery upstream. The eastern boundary is the Montana state line and the southern boundary is the border between the Idaho Panhandle National Forests and the Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest. Roads that make up the area closure perimeter are not closed, but all roads and trails within the closure are. Moon Pass and the Route of the Hiawatha remain open.

"When considering area closures, fire managers and administrators carefully evaluate the balance between public land access and firefighter and public safety," Maddox said.

Fire managers are in the process of implementing a plan to use a heavy equipment taskforce to construct mechanical fire line on the north, northwest, west and southwest flanks of the Tumbledown fire where most of the recent growth occurred.

On Wednesday, crews were able to stop the spread of a 10-acre spot fire in Nugget Creek with a wet line. The next day, they completed a handline around the perimeter to further secure it.

A structure protection group is performing structural assessments and mitigation work in Avery. Firefighters also continue to identify access and suppression opportunities in Bluff Creek on the south flank of the fire.

USFS wildfire updates are posted everyday to www.shoshonewnewspress.com and information on any active wildfire can be found at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/.