October 24 Weekly Update
Incident: Trinity Ridge Fire Wildfire
Released: 10/26/2012
Fire Information: Idaho City Ranger District: 208.392.6681
Mountain Home Ranger District: 208.587.7961
Area Update:
Rain and snow occurred the past few days across the entire fire perimeter area, with nearly 13 inches of snow reported on Trinity Ridge. Following the strong rains from a week ago, two areas received some damage. The Roaring River road had a slide about 6 miles up from the Middle Fork Boise River that completely blocked the road. It has been cleared. Also, an Aquatic Organism Passage culvert footing on the upper end of North Fork Trinity Creek near Trinity Lakes Recreation Area was scoured by the higher water flows, but did not wash out. The Boise National Forest road crew is working to re-establish its base.
Closures:
The Browns Creek Trail (#48) remains closed starting at the Middle Fork Boise River going north. The Hot Creek Trail (#47) is open to foot traffic only. The Mountain Home District Ranger will continue with a 25,000 acre area closure due to hazard tree concerns and public safety in the southern portion of the fire (Trinity Lakes Recreation Area). A map and details of these areas are at http://www.inciweb.org/.
Burned Area Emergency Response:
Emergency rehabilitation for watershed protection and road and trail repairs will continue, adjusted for the snow accumulations. Work will focus this week on Forest Road 172 starting at the bottom near Featherville and working up to Trinity Ridge. Other roads will be graded and culverts cleaned as weather and priorities allow. Roads cannot be graded with snow accumulations on the surface.
Culverts deemed to be too small in diameter from the potential higher water flows are being replaced. That work will occur on Forest Road 172 over the next seven days. Managers are working with the USGS to analyze potential water flows. That analysis helps to determine the replacement of existing undersized culverts with larger diameter ones in an effort to ensure water does not overflow onto road surfaces. In general, new culvert diameters may be one to two times larger than existing structures in significantly burned sites.
Last week's storm event was in-part mitigated by storm patrols checking on culverts and rain accumulations. This is a BAER funded component, and storm patrols are used when weather forecasts indicate potential higher water flows. Patrollers can more quickly located trouble spots, such as culverts beginning to clog, and other road drainage issues.
Fire Facts:
Size: 146,832 acres
Percent Containment: 100%
