LOWMAN, Idaho — There was not enough room in the Lowman Fire Department Tuesday evening as community members packed in for the latest on the Wapiti Fire.
Fire managers said wind gusts and erratic winds caused the Wapiti Fire to spread Tuesday. The fire, which started more than a month ago near Grandjean, has burned more than 70,000 acres in the Boise, Salmon-Challis and Sawtooth national forests.
None of it is contained.
This was the first community meeting in Lowman about the fire since the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team took over last weekend. Division supervisor Cody Rose said crews are having a hard time containing the fire because much of the terrain is rough and inaccessible.
"We can't actually go out and put fire lines in," he said. "So, all we're able to do is protect the values at risk. What we're doing is going into the subdivisions and doing structure protection."
The Boise County Sheriff's Office said the fire is threatening roughly 250 homes near Lowman, including Emil Hutton's.
"We've got sprinklers all along the bank where fire could encroach," he said. "The thing we have the biggest fear of is embers."
Like Hutton, Robin Canning is also on standby. She has had property in the area for decades.
"I don't want to lose another cabin," she said. "I lost one to a flood in 74, and we rebuilt. You go to bed every night, look for the glow and just hope it doesn't come over the side of the hill."
It is not just the Wapiti Fire. The Middle Fork Complex is burning to the west of Lowan.
The fire is prompting new evacuations. The Custer County Sheriff's Office said a spot fire jumped Highway 21, prompting emergency evacuation orders for Lower Stanley. The sheriff's office is telling people there to leave immediately.
State Highway 21 remains closed from east of Lowman to Stanley due to wildfire activity. Officials say the closure is "necessary for public safety and to provide safe conditions for firefighters working along the highway."
It is hard to predict whether the Wapiti Fire will get closer to Lowman homes. Rose said they have a "pretty good" chance at keeping the fire where it is, and protecting homes if it does spread further.
"Fire is natural thing," Hutton said. "It's going to do what it does, and all we can do is hope it's redirected and changes its mind."
About 600 people are on the fire as of Tuesday night. The incident management team said that number will double in the coming days.
Canning is also trying to stay positive.
"I came to make sure they're doing their job, and it sounds like they are," she said. "We've got great crews; we've got people from all over coming in. I think we stand a good chance."
The Red Cross recently moved its shelter from Stanley to the Challis Community Center. The Custer County Sheriff said another shelter will open in Ketchum.