By the time the last flames on the Castle Rock Fire have burned out and autumn snows have begun to fall, local residents living near the fire's perimeter will have completed an in-depth course on the behavior of large wildfires and the tactics used to suppress them.
More than a week into the large-scale siege that is the fire suppression effort, public interest in the endeavor remains as high as ever.
Evidence of this can be seen throughout Ketchum. Witness the throngs of people watching the dramatic burnout operations from roadside pullouts on state Highway 75 north of Ketchum, or conversations at local coffee shops and restaurants, which are almost inevitably fire related.
The public's fascination with the Castle Rock Fire was equally apparent during the second community meeting held since the fire began burning. The meeting was held at Hemingway Elementary School in Ketchum on Wednesday, Aug. 23.
While the first community meeting on Monday, Aug. 20, was attended by close to 500 people, Wednesday's was slightly less well attended, with a showing closer to 300 people.
Commencing the meeting in the school's packed-to-the-gills gymnasium was Blaine County Commissioner Tom Bowman. Bowman has become the de facto "incident commander" for the local public relations side of the Castle Rock Fire.
In his opening remarks, Bowman admitted to feeling a lot better about the progress on containing the fire of late.
Continuing, he exuberantly exclaimed that the Wood River Valley community has Mother Nature and the many firefighters to thank for "two damn good days of progress on the Castle Rock Fire."
Following Bowman, Idaho Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, thanked the local community for its support for the firefighters and strong sense of volunteerism.
"I want to tell you how proud I am of you," Stennett said.
He said special thanks should also go to the state and federal officials, including members of the Idaho congressional delegation and U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who have placed calls that have made the Castle Rock Fire the No. 1 firefighting priority in the nation.
"That is where we have it today," he said to immediate applause from the large crowd. "We worked it from the top to the bottom."
Looking over to Jeanne Pincha-Tulley, incident commander for the Castle Rock Fire, Stennett said the fire's national No. 1 priority status means she's able to get what firefighting resources she needs more easily.
Evidence of this can be seen in the daily increase in the numbers of firefighters arriving to work on the Castle Rock Fire, whose size was estimated at 15,757 acres Thursday. From 744 firefighters on Wednesday, some 200 more had arrived by Thursday, bringing the total number of firefighters to 950.
Based on questions asked during the meeting Wednesday, it would seem the public's main interest and concerns are related to the ongoing backburning operations, the majority of which occurred Wednesday in the Adams Gulch area north to Fox Creek and near Penny Lake in the lower Warm Springs Creek drainage.
Addressing those questions, Pincha-Tulley said fire managers are "cautiously optimistic" about the ongoing operations.
"It looks a little unnerving, right?" she said.
Noting that extended weather forecasts are calling for a cold front to arrive in the area, perhaps as early as this weekend, Pincha-Tulley said they're racing against the weather in trying to complete the burnout operations.
"When the winds come up again we want to have it all burned out," she said.
Also of great concern Wednesday night was the spot fire burning in the upper reaches of the Red Warrior Creek and Mahoney Creek basins. It is located some seven miles southwest of Ketchum on the back side of Bald Mountain.
Ahead of expected fire line construction in that area, Pincha-Tulley said heavy air tankers have been dropping retardant around the south end of the spot fire.
Blaine County Commissioner Tom Bowman addresses the crowd Wednesday night. Photo by David N. Seelig
