UPDATED 5 P.M.: Stage 3 fire evacuation ordered east of Kooskia, upriver of Riggins
UPDATED 5 P.M.: The Bureau of Land management has closed land it manages along the Little Salmon and Salmon rivers south and east of Riggins because of the Tepee Springs Fire. The closure includes all BLM land east of U.S. Highway 95 between Riggins and Smokey Boulder Road and all BLM land south of the Salmon River Road to the Payette National Forest boundary.
UPDATED 3:20 P.M.: The Idaho County Sheriff’s Office is advising people who live between French Creek and Riggins along the Salmon River to evacuate immediately because of the advancing Tepee Springs Fire. The notice was posted on the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
An evacuation center has been set up at the Riggins Community Center.
UPDATED 3 P.M.: The Stage 3 evacuation notice for the Woodrat Fire has been expanded to include Syringa and structures 1½ miles upriver of the small community along U.S. Highway 12.
Air quality continues to be poor throughout north central Idaho and southeastern Washington. Recent readings indicate hazardous conditions for Moscow, Juliaetta and Kamiah and very unhealthy for Lewiston, Pullman and Reubens.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Idaho County Sheriff’s Office issued a Stage 3 evacuation notice for residents of Suttler Creek Road and U.S. Highway 12 from Suttler Creek to Syringa where the Woodrat Fire jumped a line on its southwestern flank.
The fire is progressing along Ought Seven Ridge toward Suttler Creek, according to a posting on the Idaho County Sheriff’s Facebook page. The area is about 10 miles east of Kooskia. A stage 3 evacuation notice means residents should leave immediately.
