CASCADE, Idaho — Valley County has declared a local emergency due to the fire activity in the area.
On August 5, the Valley County Board of Commissioners met to declare an official emergency. That same day, Valley County reported several new fires also started from lightning strikes, but the declaration only named the Wolf Creek Fire and the Boulder Creek Fire specifically.
The declaration text states, it allows the activation of “all applicable local emergency plans and such disaster may require state emergency assistance to supplement local efforts to protect, rehabilitate, and replace public property and to provide a coordinated multi-agency effort to mitigate, avert and lessen threats.” The text also says that Valley County is currently fiscally challenged to undertake firefighting efforts.
The Wolf Creek Fire, burning 5 miles west of Donnelly, is at 1,146 acres with 4% containment on August 6. The Boulder Fire, burning 9 miles southwest of Cascade, is at 965 acres with 5% containment on the same update.
For the Wolf Creek Fire, the Valley County Sheriff’s Office has issued a “ready” evacuation order for residents in Zone 7 and Zone 8. The “ready” status means that there is a threat or hazard to your local area. At this level, residents should be thinking about their evacuation plan and monitoring trusted news sources for any change in evacuation status. Additional information on the evacuation statuses can be found here.
The Boise National Forest has also issued several closure orders for forest service roads in the area around the Boulder Fire and the Wolf Creek Fire. For a full list of road closures, check the Forest Service website.
Valley County Idaho provided a Facebook post with the following information: