A "wildfire" will sweep sections of Croy Canyon on Saturday. Homeowners have been warned and fire crews have been assembled to fight the blaze.
Fortunately, it will only be a drill.
Fire agencies from all municipalities in Blaine County, as well as the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service, will participate in the annual Wildland Urban Interface Fire Scenario, to be held this year in Croy Canyon, west of Hailey.
The event will take place Saturday, June 21, from 8:30 a.m. to noon. More than 100 participants will coordinate 16 fire engines and perhaps a helicopter to fight the pretend fire, which is so far unnamed.
"This is basically a re-enactment of the Ro Fire," said Wood River Fire and Rescue Chief Bart Lassman.
The Ro Fire was started by lightning and consumed more than 21,000 acres, 10 buildings and four cars in Croy Canyon in 1992, before a concerted effort brought the blaze under control on the outskirts of west Hailey.
The fire scenario planned for Saturday will involve about a square mile east of Willow Creek, including 32 homes and other buildings in the Sunset Meadows subdivision. Nearby homeowners have been notified of the activity.
Saturday's scenario highlights a presentation made by Hailey Fire Chief Mike Chapman to the Hailey Planning & Zoning Commission earlier this week, outlining the need to re-address the city's wildland-interface code, which was adopted 10 years ago.
Chapman showed a short documentary film produced by the U.S. Forest Service illustrating the need for safe zones, cleared of combustibles, around homes. The film also showed the importance of using flame-resistant roofing materials, as many homes are destroyed by falling embers, rather than the much-feared fire line often seen in the news media.
Chapman told city officials that the city's new annexation and subdivision proposals, including one in Quigley Canyon east of the city, will likely include interface zones between the city's fire jurisdiction and the federal jurisdiction on surrounding BLM lands.
"The areas needed around the new homes for safe zones increases on slopes, " he said. "So far we have been lucky to live in a level city."
Chapman presented information on the building of fire shelters within subdivisions, saying that more people die during evacuations than do during house fires.
Many times you can wait safely inside a house for a fire to sweep through, he said.
Chapman also said that the city needs several more fire stations in the valley to accommodate proposed new development.
"We also need to assess the impact of these new subdivisions on emergency services," he said.
Mike Chapman
