Springs Fire Update August 15 PM

Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team- Bill Hahnenberg, Incident Commander      
Information Center: 384-3266
Hours of operation: 8:00 am – 9:00 pm
Email: springsfireinfo@gmail.com

 August 15, 2012

9:00 pm                          

 Current Situation: Today firefighters continued to make progress on the remaining uncontained fire perimeter.  On the southeast flank, one area of smoke, well within the interior, was noticeable today.  Tomorrow a handheld infrared device will be used to help firefighters identify areas of heat that may not be readily visible.  Dozers continued to make progress on the remaining 1.5 miles of contingency line closest to the fire.  On the north flank, several hose lays have been established and crews continued to extinguish hot spots along the fire perimeter.  Helicopters were used to support mop up operations and dropped approximately 120,000 gallons of water on the fire today.  Throughout the incident, over 1.3 million gallons of water have been dropped by air resources supporting the firefighters on the ground. 

 Weather:  A Red Flag Warning was issued for the fire area this afternoon and is in effect until 9:00 pm.  The Warning is for low relative humidity and gusty winds.  High pressure will begin building in the area, and winds are expected to decrease for the next two days.

 Public Safety:    The public is asked to not stop along Highway 55 or Banks Lowman Road through the fire area or where firefighters and aircraft are working (including where helicopters are dipping out of the river).   Firefighters need to focus on their fire suppression tasks and additional traffic can distract them from their mission. 

 Much of the smoke that residents are seeing is coming from fires burning in Oregon and California.

 Places to Get More Information:  An information station has been set up at the Terrace Lakes maintenance shop (across from the golf course).  The station is staffed with personnel providing fire and preparedness information.  In addition, information boards have been established at the Garden Valley Work Center (Forest Service), Crouch Market,  Garden Valley Post Office, and Terrace Lakes Club House.

Evacuation Notification Line: 208-462-0552                     Website: http://www.inciweb.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BoiseNFFires                        Photos:   http://photobucket.com/springsfire_public

              https://twitter.com/rmt1pio                                               http://photobucket.com/springsfire_greer

Community Meeting:  A community meeting is scheduled for Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 10:00 am at the Incident Command Post in Garden Valley. 

Fire Statistics:           

Location: 5 miles west of Garden Valley, ID                             Start Date: August 5, 2012      

Size:  6150 acres                                                                      Percent Contained: 75

Total Personnel: 653                                                               Cause:  Under Investigation

Resources Include: 5 Type 1 hand crews, 9 Type 2 hand crews, 29 engines, 9 dozers, 11 water tenders, and

                                  overhead personnel.

Air Resources: 1 Type 1 helicopter.  Three additional helicopters that are used for initial attack are currently being used to support the incident.  Additional air resources are assisting from other fires and adjacent forests.  If there are new fire starts, these resources may be taken to help with initial attack.