BONNERS FERRY — Progress continues to trend upward as Northern Rockies-led firefighters bring more of the Turner Fire under containment and hold the line on the Upper Smith Fire.

Located five miles south of Copeland, the Turner Fire has burned 681 acres and is now 79% contained.

"A lot of good work has been done on Turner over the last five days," Trevor Unsworth, operations section chief with Northern Rockies Team 1, said. "Firefighters have gotten most of the fire's edge contained."

Northern Rockies Team 1 officials said there was no recent growth outside the perimeter and crews continue to strengthen fire lines and extinguish hot spots.

In Forest Service terms, "containment" means both constructing control lines and securing them through a variety of measures.

"These actions are taken to prevent the fire from escaping under the current and expected weather forecast," officials said. "Once secure, that area of the fire is considered contained."

Over the next few days, firefighters will continue to mop up — extinguish hot spots by dousing them with water along the fire's edge and mixing it into the burning material until extinguished.

"There's not a whole lot else to report on Turner," Unsworth said. "It's looking super good."

As that progress continues on the Turner Fire, some of the 246 personnel assigned to the fire five miles south of Copeland will be moved to the Upper Smith Fire, located six miles west of Porthill and 20 miles northwest of Bonners Ferry.

The Upper Smith Fire, sparked by a lightning strike on July 8, has burned 877 acres and is 0% contained. There are 363 personnel assigned to the fire, including three helicopters, 11 hand crews and assorted heavy equipment.

The fire is continuing to back downslope toward Smith Creek and extend eastward. Crews are making steady progress on building and reinforcing a direct line immediately adjacent to the fire’s edge where conditions allow. In areas where direct efforts are not possible due to fire behavior, the area's steep and rugged terrain, or safety concerns, firefighters are establishing indirect lines to protect critical values such as homes and agricultural fields at risk and protect firefighter safety.

Over the coming days, crews will continue to reinforce control lines along the fire’s west flank to prevent it from spreading beyond the avalanche chute. As part of that effort, aircraft will be used as needed to keep the fire from crossing Smith Ridge. Heavy equipment crews are building an indirect line and shaded fuel break from Long Canyon Creek to Boundary Creek to serve as a secondary control line.

Bumping up against a 2022 fire scar, a direct handline is complete around the Upper Smith's southwestern corner. A Hotshot crew is working down into Smith Creek with a saw line cut in and a sprinkler system set up.

Basically, crews are working to block off the area to prevent the fire from moving up the Smith Creek drainage, Unsworth said.

On the east side of the fire, Northern Rockies crews are working to assess the topography and fuel load as part of an effort to tie the fire back down into Smith Creek.

"The overall priority is to keep this one as small as we can because of this super steep terrain and heavy fuel loadings on that north slope," the operations section chief said.

Referring to the effort as "Plan A," Unsworth said a secondary option is being prepared to protect homes, agricultural fields and the area's water system. Heavy equipment crews are working to minimize fuel load and roads are being prepped to improve access.

"A whole bunch of crews working on this whole chunk of ground, getting some really solid lines in there," he said. "So if our Plan A doesn't work out, we've got a place to fall back and catch the fire before it's in people's backyards."

Both Smith Creek Road and Long Canyon Trail have been closed to public travel. Closures in the area of Westside and Kerr Lake roads, as well as a closure of Riverside Street, are connected to county projects.

Temporary flight restrictions are in effect over both fires to ensure the safety of suppression aircraft. Both personal aircraft and drones are included in the TFRs.

While both the Copeland and Porthill boat launches are open, residents are advised to be on the watch for aerial resources that may need to access the Kootenai River for water drops if water is needed to cool the fire.

Info.: inciweb.wildfire.gov