KAMIAH – There are currently no restrictions in the Grangeville Fire Restrictions Area of Idaho, even though the current conditions are very close to meeting some of the criteria for implementing them. Local Fire Managers from the Nez Perce Tribe (NPT), Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Clearwater Potlatch Timber Protection Association (CPTPA), and United States Forest Service (USFS) met Friday morning to discuss whether to move into Stage 1 Fire Restrictions for the Grangeville Fire Restrictions Area. Idaho Fire Restrictions Finder
This interagency fire management group made the collective decision not to implement any fire restrictions for the Grangeville Area at this time, based on our current weather forecast and recent successes with initial attack. Fire restrictions coordination and management follow the same foundation within dispatch area boundaries. When Fire Managers and Agency Administrators representing the jurisdictions within an area agree that the conditions warrant a restriction, the entire area will be placed in a restricted status. When Land Managers and Agency Administrators agree that the restrictions for that area can be removed, the entire area will rescind restrictions as a whole.
The purpose of fire restrictions is to reduce the risk of human-caused fires during unusually high fire danger and/or burning conditions, and when other prevention efforts have been exhausted. The collective group of Fire Managers in the Grangeville Fire Restrictions Area would like to extend their gratitude to all members of the public who have maintained diligence this fire season toward preventing unwanted human-caused wildfires. When human-caused wildfires are kept to a minimum this time of year, it helps the overall wildfire effort and helps fire managers make better-informed decisions regarding implementing fire restrictions across all public and private lands in North-central Idaho.
Fire weather conditions are predicted to moderate over the next 3-5 days. This is expected to bring a drop in the fire danger rating and the potential for large fire growth. The National Weather Service out of Missoula is predicting a surge of monsoonal moisture leading to showers and thunderstorms that will impact central Idaho through Monday. Brief periods of heavy rain from slow-moving storms are possible. There is an 80% chance of a wetting rain and a 50-70% chance of amounts of 0.25″ over the next 3 days. This moist atmosphere will result in much higher daytime relative humidity (20-30% higher) and excellent overnight humidity recoveries. Temperatures will trend 10-15 degrees cooler through Monday then a gradual increase toward warmer temperatures and drier weather will start the middle of next week.
