Idaho’s Gwen Fire containment increases to 65%

More than 300 firefighters fighting the Gwen Fire located east of Lapwai, Idaho had achieved 65% containment as of Thursday morning, fire officials said. 

The wildfire started July 24 and was caused by lighting, officials said. As of Thursday afternoon, the Gwen Fire had burned more than 28,800 acres and destroyed homes and commercial property.

“Primary residences, outbuildings and a commercial building are among the structures lost,” Idaho Department of Lands officials wrote in a daily briefing on the fire. “Structure assessments are underway to further evaluate the extent of the losses.”

The fire is located about five miles east of Lapwai in north central Idaho and affected the communities of Lapwai, Julietta and Culdesac. As of this article’s deadline Thursday, road closures had been lifted and evacuation orders were reduced to level 1, “ready,” according to Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 3. The Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office posts current evacuation notices and road closure information on its Facebook page. 

Hot temperatures, dry weather and dead and dry grass fueled the Gwen Fire in steep terrain. 

KXLY reported that 24 homes and 68 other structures have been destroyed by the Gwen Fire. 

Crews from Clearwater Electric were working Thursday near Idaho Highway 3 to continue efforts to fully restore power, fire officials said. 

Evacuation order remains in effect for Idaho’s Sawtooth Lodge near Grandjean

The Gwen Fire was one of 11 large active wildfires burning Thursday in Idaho, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Four other lighting-caused fires that started July 24 are burning on the Boise and Payette National Forests and are being managed as part of the West Mountain Complex. Fires managed as part of the West Mountain Complex include:

• Wapiti Fire, two miles southwest of Grandjean, 85 acres, 0% containment as of Thursday. The Grandjean area includes the Sawtooth Lodge, which was established in 1927, cabins and summer homes and a U.S. Forest Service campground.
• Bulltrout Fire, 15 miles northwest of Stanley, 35 miles northeast of Lowman, 292 acres, 15% containment as of Thursday. 
• Wolf Creek Fire, five miles west of Donnelly, 953 acres and 0% contaminant as of Thursday. 
• Boulder Fire, nine miles southwest of Cascade, 544 acres and 7% containment as of Thursday. On Tuesday, Boise National Forest officials issued a closure for roads, trails and lands in the Boulder Fire. The closure includes Snowbank Mountain Road/Forest Service Road 446, Forest Service Road 404, Forest Services Road 421 and Blue Lake, according to a press release issued by the Boise National Forest. 

Greg Jackson, planning operations chief for Great Basin Team 7, said an evacuation order for the Grandjean area and Sawtooth Lodge remained in effect Thursday due to the Wapiti Fire.

“We continue to prep the structures around the summer homes and the Sawtooth Lodge area,” Jackson said during an operational briefing on the West Mountain Complex on Thursday. “We have limited resources, so we are shifting some folks around there. (But) we are getting more resources in the last two days, so we will be putting some more resources in there on the structure prep around the lodge and in the summer homes is the priority and our strategy for the point protection in that area. As we have some resources freed up off these other fires, we will be shifting resources over to there.”

The Bulltrout Fire and Wapiti Fire are adjacent to Idaho Highway 21, which is a popular highway for summer recreation users. Fire officials asked drivers to be cautious while driving on Idaho Highway 21 and to be alert for fire crews and equipment in the area.