STANLEY, Idaho — Smoke chokes the Sawtooths, with residents feeling the heat of the Wapiti Fire. It has forced residents west of Stanley to evacuate.
The Wapiti Fire has grown to about 45,000 acres as of Saturday evening, and is 10% contained. The wildfire has burned cabins, and its flames threaten more structures.
"The northeastern edge of the fire area has obviously gotten a lot of attention because this fire has pushed over here," Wapiti Fire Information Officer Mike de Fries said. "But there are many other areas where the fire continues to need to be managed."
A brief lull in fire activity Saturday gave time for crews to focus on protecting structures in the line of fire.
"They come and clear debris and flammables away from houses. We set up sprinklers," de Fries said. "There will be portable ponds to supply water, and crews will continually watch over these areas in case the fire does move in. So that way, those values are protected"
As of Saturday evening, evacuations remain in place for subdivisions west of Stanley, while residents of Stanley are asked to be ready to leave at a moment's notice. The Custer County Sheriff's Office also added a Level 1 "Ready" evacuation notice for some areas south of Stanley.
Highway 21 remains closed from Sour Dough Lodge in Lowman to Stanley.
The Red Cross has set up an evacuation site at the Stanley Community Center for residents who had to flee. The organization is also setting up another shelter in Challis.
"That's our nearest town to shelter people," Jennifer Vivert, community disaster program manager for Red Cross Idaho said. "Should the fire advance any - or the evacuation levels advance any - it's our job to pre-plan for those things."
The Red Cross is asking for monetary donations to help with evacuation shelters. You can donate to the Red Cross by texting "Give" to 90999. The organization says our region has had 20 fires start over the past 24 hours.
The Wapiti Fire's management team expects fuels to continue to dry out - which could lead to the potential of more aggressive fire activity in the future.
The Sawtooth Salmon Festival has been cancelled because of the Wapiti Fire.
Fire officials will hold a community meeting for the Wapiti Fire Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Stanley Community Building.