BY KAREN BOSSICK
About 224 firefighters fought to contain the Phillips Creek Fire on Sunday as the fire burgeoned to 2,149 acres by Sunday afternoon.
The fire, about 8 miles north of Fairfield, continued to grow, fanned by hot dry conditions and gusty winds up to 18 miles per hour.
Started by lightning on Wednesday, Aug. 5, it burned through Soldier Mountain Ski Area on Saturday, destroying a bridge and the Magic Carpet which ferries beginner skiers uphill. Though some of the ski slopes were charred and the pine trees singed, owners posted photos showing that the lodge and lifts had survived.
A grand opening for the ski area’s new mountain bike trails, supposed to have been held this weekend, was postponed as smoke shrouded the ski area. And a pickup truck with snow plow blade was toast.
Firefighters are providing structure protection for threatened structures in the Phillips Creek and Free Gold Creek drainages, as well as out buildings on the Soldier Creek Road between Free Gold and the Soldier Mountain ski area.
The road into the area is closed, as is Couch Summit. And a Forest Closure was put in place on Sunday.
A Great Basin Incident Management Team 3 took over command of the fire at dawn Sunday morning. More firefighters are on their way to aid in the fire, which has been attacked by aircraft and bucket drops from five helicopters to stop its feed and ferocity.
The fire started out in short grass and sagebrush before going on a run in timber. Temperatures between 80 and 85 degrees and afternoon winds have caused large upticks in fire behavior each day. Low humidity has contributed to active fire behavior at night.
The fire is 7 percent contained. Firefighters hope to have it contained by midnight Saturday, Aug. 15.
While some distance from the Wood River Valley, it’s important to remember that the Beaver Creek Fire began on Aug. 7, 2013, with a lightning strike 12 miles northeast of Fairfield. That fire burned through grass, sagebrush and timber, eventually burning one home in Greenhorn and threatening many others.
By the time it was fully contained on Aug. 31, it had burned 114,900 acres in the Ketchum Ranger District of the Sawtooth National Forest. It cost more than $25 million to fight.