North Fork fire at 3,500 acres

SANDPOINT — The North Fork Hughes Fire on the Priest Lake Ranger District is at 3,520 acres, the U.S. Forest Service reported on Thursday.

The fire crossed the Bench Creek drainage and is backing south near Hughes Meadows. Firefighters are staffing the 3.5 miles of sprinkler line along Hughes Fork and Jackson Creek. Trail and area closures are in effect.

Eight new wildfires were detected across the Coeur d’Alene Dispatch Area in the last week. Firefighters have worked hard to contain new starts quickly. While the poor air quality and inversion helps to moderate fire growth, the dense smoke does limit the ability for aerial observations to detect new starts. Public and firefighter safety is the highest priority during initial attack on any new fires.

With very little to no precipitation and hot temperatures persisting, extreme fire danger subsists across the Idaho Panhandle. Forecasted wind and lightning is expected to increase fire activity the next several days.

Visitors to the forest are asked to be exceptionally careful while recreating and hunting.

Firefighting resources are extremely limited as the wildfire season continues across the Northern Rockies.

Stage 2 fire restrictions remain in effect on all state, federal, and private forestland and rangeland in Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, Shoshone, and Latah Counties. This also includes public lands in Washington and Montana that are administered by the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

For additional information, visit http://www.idahofireinfo.com/p/fire-restrictions.html.