Monday night lightning causes dozens of new fires

A lightning storm that moved through North Idaho Monday night has resulted in at least 35 new fires across the region.

The majority of the new fires are located on the St. Joe and Coeur d’Alene River Ranger Districts and are less than a tenth of an acre. The largest fire is approximately 40 acres and is located near Marble Creek on the St. Joe Ranger District.

Due to the fires being lightning caused, most are located high on ridge tops and none pose any imminent threat to structures. Nearly every wildland firefighter in North Idaho is currently engaged in attacking at least one of the fires, and additional firefighting resources have been requested from neighboring areas.

Successful containment of the new fire starts will largely depend on local vegetation conditions and weather. Crews have already successfully contained five of the new starts, and several more of the small fires are expected to be contained later today. However, the fire weather outlook is forecasting continued hot and dry conditions, and scattered thunderstorms today and tomorrow, which can complicate containment efforts. Fires that grow beyond initial attack capabilities of firefighters may take several days to reach full containment.

For more information on large fires, members of the public are encouraged to visit http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/state/13/. Due to their small size and short time frame, small fires that are quickly contained are not posted online.

Due to the large number of lightning fires on the landscape it is more important than ever to prevent human caused fires. Stage 2 fire restrictions remain in effect throughout north Idaho, which includes bans on campfires and smoking in the woods. For more information on current fire restrictions please visit http://idahofireinfo.blogspot.com/p/fire-restrictions.html.