Idaho Crews Expect To Contain Wildfires This Week

July 20, 2004
The Cabin Creek fire north of Salmon had blackened 768 acres by late Monday as about 300 firefighters worked to rein in the blaze while the weather cooperated.
SALMON, Idaho (AP) -- The Cabin Creek fire north of Salmon had blackened 768 acres by late Monday as about 300 firefighters worked to rein in the blaze while the weather cooperated.

The fire, burning in the Salmon Challis National Forest roughly 8 miles west of North Fork, was burning in timber, brush and grass, fire managers said. Cloud cover, high humidity and rain over the weekend helped slow the fire's spread.

``Conditions have been really awesome for firefighting,'' said Murray Shoemaker, an East Great Basin Fire Information Officer. ``We've got a good chance to catch this thing before it spreads some more.''

Crews had contained 64 percent of the blaze. A Monday night flight over the fire revised the size to 768 acres. It earlier had been estimated at 600 acres.

Residents living on Indian Creek road were still on an evacuation alert, but Shoemaker said some people had returned to their homes since the warning was issued Friday.

Fire managers expect to have the blaze contained by Thursday.

The Dollar fire, burning in the Boise National Forest about 16 miles northeast of Cascade, was slowed over the weekend as it moved into an area that had burned in previous fire seasons.

A half-inch of rain early Monday helped more than 500 crew members build a fire line at the leading edge and the 782-acre blaze was expected to be contained by Wednesday, with full control on Thursday, officials said. Firefighting efforts on the Dollar fire have cost an estimated $1.1 million so far.

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