UPDATE: ( Oct. 19, 10:30 a.m.): Repairs to the containment line built by dozers to prevent the Valley Fire from reaching homes and communities is complete, according to Idaho Department of Lands.
Heavy equipment operators and firefighters restored 33 miles of dozer and handline, returning it to a more "natural state" ready for regrowth.
UPDATE: ( Oct. 19, 12:30 p.m.): The Valley Fire is nearing full containment. Officials with the US Forest Service announced on Saturday that the nearly ten thousand acre wildfire is now 90% contained with suppresion efforts will ongoing this weekend in the southeast Boise area.
Over the coming week, firefighters and heavy equipment operators will begin repair work on steep slopes near Council Spring Road in Harris Ranch. All roads and trails west of highway 21 and north of Warm Springs Avenue along the Boise Front segment of the Boise River Wildlife Management Area remain closed to the public.
Officials have reported individuals recreating in closed areas and ask the public to please respect all closures.
UPDATE: ( Oct. 18, 12:30 p.m. ): All efforts on the Valley Fire are now focused on suppression repair after crews successfully addressed hot spots near the Robie Creek area and secured containment lines. Some smoke is still visible in the interior of the fire but the Idaho Department of Lands says it is not a threat to containment.
There are 33 miles of containment line that crews are working to restore to a more natural state — over a dozen miles are complete, with some areas already seeded for regrowth.
UPDATE: ( Oct. 17, 10:15 a.m. ): A cold front moved into the Valley Fire area on Wednesday which forced a pause in fire suppression repair work for firefighter safety and to prevent damage to the wet soil, according to the Idaho Department of Lands. The fire remains 90% contained.
Rain was light and the ground is dry enough for ongoing fire suppression repairs to resume Thursday morning. The rain also helped decrease fire activity in the remaining hot spots on the north/northeast portion of the fire closest to Robie Creek.
An unattended campfire was recently found near the Valley Fire, so IDL is reminding the public to never leave campfires unattended — always ensure they are completely extinguished by drowning, stirring, and feeling for heat.
UPDATE: ( Oct. 16, 4 p.m. ): The Valley Fire has reached 90% containment, which allowed the Level 1 "READY" evacuation order to be removed from the Robie Creek area. There are no longer any evacuation orders in place in Boise County.
The Idaho Department of Lands says that crews have shifted from fire suppression to suppression repair, which includes bringing containment lines back to a more "natural state" to prepare for vegetation regrowth.
Rain is expected Wednesday afternoon, which may impact suppression repair work due to potentially muddy conditions.
All roads and trails on the Boise Front segment of the Boise River WMA west of Highway 21 and north of Warm Springs Avenue remain closed to all entry until further notice.
UPDATE: ( Oct. 15, 1 p.m. ): The Idaho Department of Lands says there are
still hot spots on the north/northeast portion of the Valley Fire, closed to Robie Creek. However, the department says the fire is a safe distance from the community.
Near homes in the Boise Foothills, crews are shifting operations suppression repair. So far, roughly 2 out of 22 miles of dozer lines have been repaired with excavators, to bring containment lines to a more natural state, preparing for vegetation growth.
On Monday, the Idaho Department of Lands issued a report concluding that an Idaho Power power pole was involved in the ignition of the fire.
Related: Idaho Power equipment involved in igniting Valley Fire in Boise foothills
UPDATE: ( Oct. 14, 4:30 p.m. ): The Idaho Department of Lands says the Valley Fire remains 79% contained. It has burned 9,904 acres.
The department says aircraft flights had to be suspended on Sunday, as another private drone was in the "No Fly Zone." The department says flying drones in a fire area is not allowed, and pose a safety risk for firefighting aircraft, as well as medical rescues that could need an airlift.
In the Boise Foothills, resources are now beginning to repair fire suppression lines that helped stop the fire from reaching homes. IDL says efforts include seeding and erosion control of containment lines.
All roads and trails west of Highway 21, and north of Warm Springs Avenue in the Boise River Wildlife Management area remain closed. The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation also has an interactive map showing trails impacted in the Boise National Forest.
UPDATE: ( Oct. 13, 2:30 p.m. ): The Valley Fire near South Boise remained just under 10,000 acres and grew to 79% containment, due to helicopter water drops on Saturday.
A large portable water-holding container is now in place in the north area of the fire, which decreases travel time for water tender engines. Ground crews will move further into the fire footprint on Sunday to address the remaining interior burning.
Fire activity is still a safe distance from the community of Robie Creek, according to the Idaho Department of Lands, but the area is still in a "READY" or Stage 1 evacuation status.
UPDATE: ( Oct. 12, 2:30 p.m. ): The Valley Fire has stalled with just over 9,900 acres of burned area — the fire is now 74% contained. Helicopter water drops continued on Friday and fire activity remains a safe distance from the community of Robie Creek.
No primary residences have been lost thus far, but the Robie Creek area is still in a "READY" or Stage 1 evacuation status.
UPDATE: ( Oct. 10, 2 p.m. ): The Valley Fire is 66% contained with over 9,900 acres of burned area. Due to safety concerns and fire crew access, trails and roads along the Boise Front segment of the Boise River Wildlife Management area west of Highway 21 and north of Warm Springs Avenue are closed until further notice.
UPDATE: ( Oct. 8, 12:30 p.m. ): Over 202 personnel are on scene to fight the fire. Nevada Team 2, a Nevada Type 3 Incident Management Team, took over the command of the Valley Fire around 7:30 p.m. yesterday. The most active part of the fire is the north and northeast portion, with crews focusing on the containment lines of those sides. The west portion of the fire, that is visible from Boise, is being successfully handled with crews containing those lines of fire activity.
Evacuations / Closures: Robbie Creek area is still in "READY" or Stage 1 of evacuation status. The Boise National Forest Valley Fire Area, Road and Trail Closure currently in place.
UPDATE ( Oct. 7, 6:30 p.m.): The Bureau of Land Management says the Valley Fire is 50% contained. It's burned as much as 9,892 acres.
Trail systems inside the fire remain closed. The BLM says residents should expect to see smoke, and asks residents not to call it in as their dispatch needs to remain available for new issues.
The BLM adds crews are making significant progress on the north, northeast, and southeast sides of the fire, while the west side is being carefully monitored.
UPDATE ( Oct. 7, 7:45 a.m. )
Crews have successfully continued their efforts on the Valley Fire with the inferno now 50% contained and still 9,412 acres in size. According to BLM Idaho Fire, the east side of the fire has posed challenges with the dense timber and steep terrain of the area.
They say crews were still able to make great effort in slowing progress and are paying extra attention to hot spots to ensure they don't reignite.
UPDATE ( Oct. 6th, 7:30 p.m. )
The Valley Fire is now burning at over 9,412 acres with 33% containment. The personnel on scene for this fire is at 166. For the crews working the fire the tactics for the day, were to strengthening the west side containment lines, and monitor hot spots within the fire.
For the east side of the Valley Fire, the crews have slowed progress of the growth. For crews working tonight the containment lines are being worked, with extra attention to hot spots for cancellation of reigniting.
UPDATE ( Oct. 6, 12 p.m.): The Boise Fire Department says the Valley Fire is still over 9,000 acres with roughly 33% containment. Crews are working through the weekend to help further contain the fire.
The Robie Creek area, which was previously in a Level 2 "SET" status, has been downgraded to Level 1 "READY" status. The Wilderness Creek Ranch area has been fully dropped off of the readiness evacuation list, according to the Boise County Sheriff's Office.
UPDATE ( Oct. 5, 4 p.m.): Crews continue fighting the Valley Fire near Boise, which has grown to over 9,000 acres.
UPDATE ( Oct. 5, 10:30 a.m.): Crews are conducting proactive fire operations at the Valley fire to protect containment lines. Evacuation levels remain unchanged with the Robie Creek area still at Level 2, and the Wilderness Ranch still at Level 1.
Power has been fully restored to the Robie Creek area, according to Idaho Power.
The Bureau of Land Management will conduct back-burning operations at Hilltop Station on Saturday to help contain the fire and protect structures. Highway 21 may be closed on Saturday afternoon during these operations — the latest updates can be found on the Boise County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.
UPDATE (Oct. 4, 7 p.m.): As of around 7:00 p.m. the fire has burned an estimated 7,871 acres.
UPDATE (Oct. 4, 5 p.m.): Boise residents in the area north of Warm Springs Avenue and between Wild Horse Lane/Table Rock Road and Highway 21 should be aware of fire activity in their area. All areas that were previously in “SET” have returned to “READY” status.
Based on expected wind conditions tonight, crews will be closely monitoring conditions and strengthening fire lines.
Stay alert for further notifications — a map of the evacuation areas that people should be aware in Boise is included below.
“This fire, while challenging all of our agencies operationally, has also demonstrated the strong relationships with our mutual partners. I am proud of our Boise firefighters, for working so well together in an effort to keep our community safe,” said Boise Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer in a press release. “I’d also like to express my gratitude to our partner fire agencies in the valley for providing additional personnel to support our response area while our crews are engaged in fighting this fire, ensuring that emergency coverage in the city remains intact.”
The Valley Fire sparked early Friday morning along Highway 21 in east Boise, and has already burned thousands of acres in the Boise foothills.
Latest estimates around 3:00 p.m. put the fire at around 4,000 acres.
Residents in Robie Creek and Harris North are urged to prepare to evacuate and pay close attention to CodeRED evacuation notices and updates on the Boise County Sheriff's Facebook Page and the Boise Fire Facebook Page.
A portion of Warm Springs Rd. from Highway 21to Eckert Rd. was closed to the public for much of Friday to allow fire crews easy access.
Authorities directed East Junior High School and Dallas Harris Elementary School to close Friday, per the Idaho Department of Lands. Any students who were already on the bus to school Friday morning were taken to Les Bois Junior High, where parents/guardians could pick them up.
— georgie (@feedgeorgie) October 4, 2024
Drivers are asked to avoid the area while crews work to contain the active fire.
Helicopters are on scene dropping water on the fire, along with several crews from the Boise Fire Department and the Bureau of Land Management.
There is a new wildfire called the Valley Fire, located along Highway 21 near Highland Valley Summit (SE of Boise). Please avoid the area while crews work to contain it. #IDwx #Boise pic.twitter.com/LOPlcxbATk
— NWS Boise (@NWSBoise) October 4, 2024
The Boise District BLM initially responded to the Valley Fire with four overhead, five engines, two dozers, Boise City Fire, and one investigator.
Valley Fire as seen during takeoff this morning! https://t.co/9DDnd5vqRO
— NWS Boise (@NWSBoise) October 4, 2024
