A lightning strike on a subalpine fir tree near Galena Summit on Sunday afternoon caused the first wildland fire of the season in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
The blaze, which witnesses in the Smiley Creek area reported sometime between 2:30 and 3 p.m., only burned one-tenth of an acre, Sawtooth National Forest North Zone Fire Management Officer Bill Murphy said Monday.
Murphy said the small fire was found at approximately 8,700 feet elevation on the Sawtooth Valley side of Galena Summit and had spread to a small clump of subalpine fir surrounding the primary strike point by the time firefighters arrived.
He said that because witnesses reported the fire by dialing 911, rather than the interagency dispatch center, the first firefighters to arrive were six responders from the Ketchum Fire Department. A four-person fire crew with the Sawtooth National Forest—including Murphy—arrived soon after.
The Ketchum Fire Department responds to fires in rural Blaine County all the way north to Galena Summit under a cooperative agreement with the Forest Service.
Because the fire was located in an area inaccessible by vehicles, the fire crews had to park at a roadside pullout north of the Galena Overlook and hike in by foot. By the time the Forest Service crews arrived, the Ketchum firefighters already had things under control, Murphy said.
He said that because vegetation is still somewhat green, the blaze's spread was somewhat reduced. Still, he warned those favorable conditions won't last long.
"The tinder is pretty dry this year," he said. "We're anticipating more lightning fires."
He said extended weather forecasts calling for below-average precipitation aren't giving much reason for optimism, either.
Of course, lightning strikes and the wildland fires they cause happen every year.
"They're part of the natural process," Murphy said.
Forest Service policy states that fires burning in the Sawtooth Wilderness Area and in areas being considered by Congress for wilderness designation in the Boulder and White Cloud mountains may be allowed to burn unimpeded. Under the let-it-burn policy, some fires in remote areas are allowed to carry out their positive ecological benefits as long as they don't threaten structures, Murphy said.
Instead of dialing 911 to report wildland fires, Murphy said, people should call the interagency dispatch center in Shoshone at (800) 974-2373. The dispatch center is staffed 24 hours per day.
When reporting a fire, callers should be prepared to give a detailed location and description of the blaze, he said.
