Parker Ridge Fire forces evacuations
BONNERS FERRY – Mandatory evacuations are being ordered for residents near the Parker Ridge Fire in Boundary County.
Boundary County Sheriff’s Office said via a Nixle alert that residents in the Porthill and Farm to Market area in Boundary County were to leave their homes and report to the Boundary County Fairgrounds in Bonners Ferry.
Red Cross was en route Friday night to assist residents who are being displaced by the fire.
The evacuation notice, sent out at 9:47 p.m., follows a message sent by the sheriff’s office two hours earlier advising residents on the Westside and Copeland roads that they needed to take immediate evacuation action. The service, developed by Nixle, allows law enforcement to send out alerts to personal computers, mobile phones and handheld devices whenever there is an emergency or other important information.
The Parker Ridge Fire is among several fires in North Idaho and surrounding counties caused by lightning strikes in the past few weeks, with firefighters spread thin throughout the state.
The national preparedness level has risen to its highest alert with increasing fire activity all across the nation.
The Parker Ridge Fire has grown to 1,939 acres, with 0 percent contained. The fire was caused by a lightning strike on July 27 and the first flames were reported July 29. The fire is located in Boundary County northwest of Bonners Ferry. About 92 firefighters are currently battling the blaze.
The fire moved north Thursday night, crossing no name creek and reaching Parker Creek to the south. Three miles of fire lines were built with hand tools and a dozer. Crews are also working on structure prevention.
Parker Ridge Trail No. 221, Fisher Peak Trail No. 14 and dispersed campsites along that route are closed.
The Tower Fire is on the Pend Oreille Divide, and includes the Idaho Panhandle and Colville National Forests. Lightning struck the area Aug. 11, with the blaze detected on Aug. 12.
About 60 people are working to extinguish the fire that has grown to 1,800 acres with a mix of grass and timber as fuel.
The Scotchman Peak Fire was reported Thursday and quickly grew to more than 600 acres in about 18 hours. Currently it has burned more than 650 acres, with no firefighters working to extinguish the blaze. Air and remote technology are monitoring the fire, currently burning the Blue Creek drainage northeast of Clark Fork. It is traveling into rocky and broken up landscape that may reduce the growth of the fire.
The Three Sisters Fire, about two miles north of Bayview, started Aug. 4 has burned 228 acres and the Idaho Department of Lands has contained the fire at 100 percent. About 73 firefighters fought the blaze.
In Pend Oreille County in Washington State, a couple of fires are burning. The smoke from the fires can be seen from neighboring counties, including Bonner and Boundary.
The Baldy Fire is burning about six miles northwest of Ione, Wash., and is currently about 515 acres.
The fire is in the mop-up stage, with crews focusing on the fire’s edges to ensure hot spots are extinguished. The cause of the fire is under investigation, as of Thursday.
About 305 firefighters are working the blaze, with the perimeter contained at 53 percent.
• Staff writer Caroline Lobsinger contributed to this story.