A bit of moisture helps, but we're not out of the woods yet

The 2015 fire season is something that hasn't been seen in these parts for about 100 years. The combination of little to no snowpack, hot and dry weather, no precipitation and gusty winds has knocked the Northwest for a loop.

"It is unprecedented," said Shoshana Cooper, acting public affairs officer for Idaho Panhandle National Forests. "We haven't had this much fire in the forests since 1926."

The rain that fell Sunday was desperately needed to help quell the countless fires burning throughout North Idaho and eastern Washington, but Cooper said it's not quite enough to stamp anything out, especially with the winds that whipped through the region Saturday and stirred up some sparks.

"We would need at least 2 inches of rain followed by a pattern of precipitation," she said. "All the stuff that's getting wet right now is not getting thoroughly soaked, so it's going to dry as soon as the sun comes back out."

She said while Coeur d'Alene received a little precipitation, raging fires such as the Grizzly Complex were not so fortunate. She said the Chicadee Fire in the Snow Peak Complex actually grew significantly through the weekend, from 627 acres to an more than 5,000 acres.

The Snow Peak Complex is located within the southeastern portion of the St. Joe Ranger District including the Snow Peak Wildlife Management Area, upper portion of the Mallard Larkins Pioneer Area and Ruby Point to Yankee Peak area south of the St. Joe River.

The fire danger rating remains at the highest level of extreme, the potential for windblown trees is high and gusts of wind will continue to occur. According to the North Idaho Wildfire Update released Saturday, firefighters braced for windy weather through the weekend but the recent cold front that is bringing lower temperatures, higher humidity and lower winds may prove to be favorable for those battling the blazes.

Here is an update on active wildfires in the area:

The Parker Ridge Fire, located approximately 20 miles northwest of Bonners Ferry and seven miles west of Porthill, is at 6,252 acres and is 27 percent contained. The lightning-caused, Type 3 fire began July 27. Crews continued working to mop up a "peat bog" area that has been persistently smoldering the last few days and made progress with the line building and mopping up along the south flank of the fire near Parker Creek. The fire had been backing down slope and then making short uphill runs to the top of the ridge on the Long Canyon side of Parker Ridge. As of Saturday evening, all of the control lines appear to have held with some help from light precipitation. The Westside Road area continues under a Stage I alert. Forest closures remain in effect. Info: 267-6773 or [email protected]

The Clark Fork Complex is at 14,800 acres and is 35 percent contained. It is a Type 2. The complex of fires is located in North Idaho near Clark Fork and includes the Scotchman Peak, Whitetail and Marten fires east of Lake Pend Oreille, plus six fires in the Kootenai National Forest in Montana. A new emergency forest closure order closed the 332 Road, the 1066 Road and 10210 Road at the intersection with the 332 Road in addition to previous trail closures. A pre-evacuation notice continues for the Bull Lake area south of Troy, Mont.

The Whitetail Peak Fire is at 1,734 acres and is zero percent contained. It started Aug. 14 south of Highway 200 and nine miles south of Clark Fork, eight miles southwest of Heron, Mont., and is part of Clark Fork Complex. Friday, cool and cloudy conditions with scattered rain showers kept the fire quiet. Crews continued machine line and holding actions along the 332 Road to keep the fire from spreading north and east across the Shoshone/Bonner County line. Crews also continued structure protection/assessments and holding actions along the Highway 56 corridor to minimize fire spread onto private lands. Logging equipment moved cut logs down the road to the west to eliminate them as fuel. Crews continue to monitor Marten Creek (2,033 acres) and Scotchman Peak (1,920 acres). Evacuation orders and emergency Forest closures continue for this area. Fire personnel: 323. Info: 406-847-9974 or 406-827- 0738. [email protected].

The Marble Creek Fire that began Aug. 11 because of lightning is at 2,033 acres. It is located 30 miles east of St. Maries. It continued to burn through the weekend but did not spread measurably. Crews worked on control and containment while preparing for the wind and focused on structure protection between Marble Creek and Avery. Extreme caution is advised when driving on St. Joe River Road because of increased fire traffic. The emergency Forest closure was expanded.

The Tower Fire, which is part of the Kansu Complex, is at 18,478 acres on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest and is all within the state of Washington. It is 10 percent contained. It began in the Colville National Forest and is visible from Priest Lake. Winds caused the fire to become active, but smoke and dust obscured much of the eastern portion of the fire. Fire managers pulled many firefighters off the line as the storm passed and have now returned to the fire. Further evacuations have been recommended. Bonner County and Pend Oreille County sheriff's departments raised the evacuation levels in the Big Meadows/Squaw Valley area to Evacuation Level 3 and north Highway 57 corridor, including the Nordman area, to Evacuation Level 2. All other areas at Priest Lake and south along the east side of the fire remain at Level 1. Forest closures remain in effect. Info: 907-750-1639 or [email protected].

The Grizzly Complex Fire has grown to 16,232 acres and is zero percent contained. It is located between Enaville and Murray and began Aug. 10 with 16 lightning-caused fires. It is a Type 2. Several of the fires have burned together. Four new fire starts resulted from a lightning storm on Aug. 21. Shoshone County has issued a Level 1 pre-evacuation notice for an area along the Shoshone/Bonner county line, north Forest Road 9 and west of the Idaho/Montana border. As of Sunday, a new forest closure went into effect for the northern portion of the Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District.

The Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District Fires include Monument southeast of Monument Mountain, Steep Creek between Bumblebee Peak and Cougar Peak and the Stoney Creek Fire northeast of the Fourth of July Summit. They began Aug. 21. An emergency Forest Closure Order is in effect for the area.

The Snow Peak Complex has grown to 6,658 acres, it is zero percent contained and a Type 3. It includes the following fires: Pretty, Ruby Point, Basin Creek, Trail 55, Caribou, Lightning Ridge, Chicadee, Game, Pole Creek, My Ruby, and Salt Pork. Due to terrain, limited resources and no immediate threats to life and structures, the Snow Peak Complex does not have firefighters on the ground. Firefighter resources are focused on higher priority fires where lives, structures and valuable resources are threatened. Snow Peak, Granite Peak, Ruby Point, and Yankee Peak areas were closed Saturday.

The Last Inch Fire 12 miles east of Clarkia is at 712 acres and is 56 percent contained. The Type 2 fire began Aug. 21 because of lightning. A moderate increase in fire behavior was recently observed so crews reinforced dozer and handlines. Info: 508-400-3891 or [email protected].

The Not Creative Fire four miles north of Rose Lake is 100 percent contained. The local ranger district is managing the Type 4 fire, which is on patrol status.

The Big Lost Fire is also 100 percent contained. It is 940 acres and began because of lightning Aug. 13. It is located east of Potlatch near Highway 6, 10 miles south of Emida and three miles north-northeast of Harvard in Latah County. The Ponderosa District of the Idaho Department of Lands is managing and patrolling the fire.