SANDPOINT — Firefighters made gains on the Sunset Fire Tuesday, bringing containment to 4%, the first such gain in the week-old fire.

While warmer weather is expected by the weekend, Northern Rockies Team 5 officials said firefighters kept the fire to 3,208 acres and brought containment to 4%. There are 546 firefighters assigned to the fire and more are on the way to help with the week-old fire in southern Bonner County, Northern Rockies Team 5 officials said.

Since being reported about 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13, the fire has quickly grown. Within several hours it grew from a half-acre to more than 50 and then almost 700 acres. By the next day, the fire had more than doubled and on Friday, had grown by more than 1,000 acres, reaching just over 2,700 acres over the course of the day.

However, more moderate temperatures and weather — and a determined effort by local, state and federal firefighters — have kept growth on the Sunset Fire to several hundred acres since the weekend.

While fire behavior has moderated in the past few days, state, federal and local fire officials said they expect that to tick upward in the coming days and warmer weather returns to the region and the forests begin to dry out again.

"That gives the illusion that it's over and it's not," said Joe Sampson, incident commander for Northern Rockies Team 5 after a community meeting on the fire that attracted more than 500 residents from the area seeking up-to-date information on the fire and evacuation of nearby homes. "We're doing well with the firefighters on the ground but we've got a lot of work to do in the coming days."

Northern Rockies officials said spotting and torching fire behavior were expected to increase Tuesday in areas with isolated residual heat. Heavy fuels in the steep and rocky terrain were expected to continue to burn.

"Continued drying of fuels, higher temperatures and lower relative humidity will result in increased potential for fire activity as the week progresses," officials said in a press release to update the community on the fire.

Hose lays are in place to supply water for mop-up and crews are working to improve and strengthen containment lines along the fire's southern flank. Hotshot and initial attack crews are working to hold and improve firelines along the fire's western flank, moving north. At the same time, hotshot and heavy equipment crews continue to establish firelines on the fire's northern flank.

Aerial resources, including water scoopers and helicopters, will continue to assist all firefighting efforts using water drops on the southern, western, and northern flanks of the fire to support crews on the ground. With water scoopers pulling water from Lake Pend Oreille, boaters are asked to stay away from the lake's western shore near the fire to give the planes room to operate.

Structure protection teams will continue to implement protection measures where needed along Talache Road and Butler Creek. From the lakeshore, watercraft will supply water to cool isolated heat sources and will assess properties along the lake.

While evacuations remain in place throughout southern Bonner County near the fire, Kootenai County officials announced that evacuation protocols in the county for the Bayview community had been lifted.

In Bonner County, residents on Raven, Crosswhite and Little Blacktail roads, as well as those living east of 2268 Sunset Road have been asked to evacuate from their homes. Also on "GO" status are residents on U.S. Forest Service Road 630 off Blacktail Road (north of Blacktail), Butler Creek and Butler Creek Spur, from Mirror Lake diagonally down to USFS 630. This includes Five Lakes Estates, Jupline Landing, the entire Ponderosa neighborhood and everything south of Talache Road.

An evacuation center has been opened at the Cocolalla Bible Camp to assist displaced residents. The Bonner County Fairgrounds are available to shelter evacuated livestock on a limited basis.

Near Clark Fork, the Idaho Panhandle National Forest resumed management of the Lightning Creek Fire on Monday. The fire, which has burned about 2,515 acres since a lightning strike ignited the fire on July 30, is 25 percent contained.

Fire activity on the fire is minimal, with fire creeping and smoldering in isolated areas.

An area closure order is in place surrounding the fire. Lightning Creek Road (Forest Service Road 419) is closed from the junction of Trestle Creek Road (FSR 275) south to the Regal Creek crossing. The closure is necessary to protect public safety and ensure safe firefighting access.

A temporary flight restriction is in place for both the Sunset and Lightning Creek fires, prohibiting all drones and aircraft from operating in those areas without permission. Unauthorized aircraft pose a serious hazard to aviation personnel, forcing the grounding of aircraft and potentially delaying fire suppression efforts.

Information: Lightning Creek Fire: bit.ly/4l5NhIB; Sunset Fire: bit.ly/45EwwP9; Bonner County Sheriff's Office, bonnerso.org