UPDATE: (Sept. 10, 10:30 a.m.): Monday’s fire behavior was less active than expected, and this was in part due to a change in wind direction that brought more smoke from the Lava Fire, settling over the valley and tampering fire behavior.
A Fire Weather Watch has been issued for Wednesday, Sept. 11 for expected thunderstorm activity. These storms could bring rain but also lightning. A cold front will start coming through the area beginning Wednesday, with more significant chance of moisture as the week progresses.
A community meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at the Cascade Fire Department.
UPDATE: (Sept. 9, 2:45 p.m.): The Valley County Sheriff's Office is ordering a "GO NOW" evacuation for residents in Zones 4, 5 and 6. An interactive map to see where your zone is can be found online.
Related: Lava Fire grows significantly with weekend winds, evacuations expanded
Those in "GO NOW" zones need to leave immediately. Roadblocks on West Mountain Rd will be moved north, near Hurd Creek. No access will be allowed in the area once you leave.
Zones 7, 8 and 9 are now under "SET" evacuation notices. Those under this notice should be ready to leave at a moments notice. Sign up for CodeRed Alerts here.
Update (as of Sept. 8): The Valley County Sheriff's Office was just advised by West Mountain Fires that a GO evacuation order be placed for residents in the path of the Boulder Fire to include Zones 4 and 5.
Deputies will be going into the area and notifying residents. Expect roadblocks will be placed on West Mountain and Cabartonat some point.
"READY" evacuation notices are in place for Zones 6 - 11. That includes all homes on West Mountain, from Wapiti Dr. north to West RoseBerry Rd. Residents trying to access their homes will need to travel from Donnelly south. There are no roadblocks in zones 6 - 11 at this time.
Update: As of September 6th 2024
West Mountain Fires are burning for a combined 45,000 acres across the Cascade area. The most prominent fire burning the most acres is the Snag fire at 32,478. Boulder Fire is the most contained with over 24%.
Boulder: "Set" and "Ready" are in effect
During last night the fire crews were monitoring fire lines with engines looking for hot spots to work on. Today, the firefighters will be helping the containment lines that have been identified for major hot spots.
Dollar:
The fire growth for the Dollar fire is still at minimal growth. The north is seeing some creeping behavior near rocky terrain. The fire is being monitored with crews needing to remove unneeded equipment.
Snag:
Warm Lake road remains open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m with just one lane of traffic. With crews working to improve the edge of Warm Lake Rd, 409 Clear Creek Rd and the West Flank, they hope that people traveling through watch their speed and look for emergency vehicles.
Goat:
The growth has minimize for this fire since yesterday. Crews are working on containment on the north end and continuing to secure that area. The focus today is to monitor the growth from north and south with the trail 099 as a tool of utilization for working the blaze.
West Mountain Fires have been burning near and around Cascade Idaho due to lightining strikes. The fires burning are the, Boulder, Snag, Dollar, and Goat. The Boulder Fire is 6 miles SW of Cascade, Snag Fire is 11 miles E of Cascade, Dollar Fire 18 miles NE of Cascade, and Goat Fire is 11 miles SE of Cascade.
With clearing skies and higher temperatures coming in, fire activity will increase. The winds will be shifting southwest with some potential for higher fire activity.
Historic averages for fire-season indicate that mid-October would be close to containment for these West Mountain Fires. With help from the Army of the 14th Brigade Engineer Battalion suppressing some of the fire activity they hope to achieve that mid-October goal.
Boulder Fire: (3,957 acres - 24% containment)
Firefighters and army crews were working the fire in the Olson Creek and Brush Creek drainage. They were creating a dozer line around the northern end of the fire. They had some support from a Type 1 helicopter. The main focus is to make sure structures within the area are being safe and not getting in contact with the fire.
Dollar Fire: (4,170 acres - 8% containment)
The fire growth was minimal, with the western edge of the fire being confined. The northern edge is being monitored with minimal speed of winds helping the fire grow.
Snag Fire: (32,478 acres - 13% containment)
The growth has moved slowly to the eastern side within a previously burned area. A team of engines, crews, and personnel continue to assist on the structure paths of the fires, to make sure they are safe. Fire crews and army crews continue to also secure the southern edge of Fore Road 409 from the fire, with hoses and pumps.
Goat Fire: (3,952 acres - 8% containment)
Fire grew to the north and south with crossing south of the Middle Fork Payette River drainage. Forest Service Trail 099 is becoming a holding feature to help assess the needs of values at risk to be protected.
Both Boise National Forest and Payette National Forest has forest closures due to the West Mountain Fires
Boise National Forest
- Dollar/Oro Area, Trail, Road Closures
- Anderson-Bulldog-Nellie Fire Area, Road, and Trail Closure
- Boulder Fire Area, Trail, and Road Closure
- Wolf Creek Burned Area, Trail, and Road Closure
Payette National Forest
- Wolf Creek Burned Area Road and Trail Closure
- Dollar Fire Area and Trail Closure
Warm Lake Highway is the only road closure due to the West Mountain Fires, with only homeowners and contractors being let in.
