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Sharps Fire grows to 57,253 acres; some public lands now closed

Sharps Fire grows to 57,253 acres; some public lands now closed
Posted at 11:04 AM, Aug 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-03 13:07:50-04

The Sharps Fire near Bellevue and Hailey has grown to 57,253 acres and remains only about 29% contained, according to fire managers.

A red flag warning was issued for the fire area Thursday, with erratic wind gusts up to 40 mph. 

Crews will continue to reinforce and construct containment lines, using planned ignition operations and aggressive aerial support when possible, according to a news release.

The forecasted weather and steep terrain are continuing to challenge firefighting efforts. 

A fire information meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Campus, 1050 Fox Acres Road in Hailey.   

A number of road closure are in place.

-Muldoon Canyon Road is closed from EE-DA-HO Ranch (east of Bellevue) to Hunt Road. 
-Little Wood Reservoir Road is closed at the reservoir. 
-High Five, Baugh Creek, Bay Horse and Hunt Roads are also closed. 
-Quigley Road is now closed at the mouth of the canyon where the payment ends.
-Slaughterhouse Creek Road is also now closed where the pavement ends. 

These roads are closed to restrict access into the fire area where crews are working.

The Forest Service has closed Cove Creek Road 1.5 miles from the East Fork Road.

The Sawtooth National Forest has implemented an Area Closure –- including roads, trails, and the fire area -- until September 30, or until rescinded by the Sawtooth National Forest Supervisor. 

The full closure order and map can be found under the Closure tab on the Sharps fire Inciweb page.

Mandatory evacuations are in place for the Little Wood Recreation Area Campground and all residences on Little Wood Reservoir Road and Flat Top Road north of the reservoir. 

High Five recreation sites are evacuated and closed.

Fish Creek Road is under a pre-evacuation notice. Residents should prepare to leave at a moment’s notice, officials said.  Residents are urged to gather critical documents, medications, children, and pets -- and be ready to go quickly. 

The Blaine County Sheriff issued a new pre-evacuation notice to all residents located north and east of the intersection of Buttercup Road and Myrtle Street in Hailey. This extends north to East Fork Road and includes all residents on the east side of Highway 75. Residents are encouraged to begin moving large animals as a precautionary measure. 

For more detailed information and a list of locations, please visit the Blaine County Sheriff website: www.blainesheriff.com/2018/08/01/new-pre-evacuations/

There is a TFR (temporary flight restriction) over the Sharp Fire.  

Also, effective immediately, the BLM Shoshone Field Office is temporarily closing public lands in and around the Sharps Fire due to potentially hazardous fire conditions. 

Approximately 128,000 acres of BLM-managed public lands are affected by this closure which covers all BLM-managed lands lands east of Highway 75, south of East Fork Road, then south of the Sawtooth National Forest Boundary, west of Fish Creek Road and north of US Highway 20, and east of Gannett Road.

This closure is in effect now until rescinded by Shoshone Field Manager Codie Martin. 

“The weather conditions and fire behavior on the Sharps Fire simply call for restricting visitors to this area for the time-being,” said Shoshone Field Manager Codie Martin. 

A map and a description of the emergency closure are available at: https://www.blm.gov/idaho and at www.idahofireinfo.com.