Lick Creek Fire – St. Joe Ranger District
Release Date: Aug 6, 2019
St. Maries, Idaho, August 6, 2019 – The Lick Creek Fire, detected on August 2, is located approximately 8 miles southwest of Avery, Idaho and is burning on Potlatch-Deltic and National Forest System lands within the St. Joe Ranger District of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. Rod Weeks' North Idaho Type 3 Incident Management Team took command on Sunday morning. The fire is approximately 200 acres and is burning predominantly in logging slash and some timber. An area and road closure is being issued. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Full suppression tactics are being utilized to safely, effectively and efficiently reduce the spread of the fire. Containment is at nine percent. Approximately 129 personnel are assigned, including two Interagency Hotshot crews, two Type 2 handcrews, one Type 3 helicopter, four Type 6 wildland fire engines, three dozers and four water tenders. For more information, please call 208-245-6220 or visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6491/ for updates.
There have been several smaller fires on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, primarily associated with lightning strikes this year, but early detection and suppression, coupled with an average fire season, have kept the fires small. The next largest wildfires are the Mosquito Creek Fire (cause under investigation) which is 3.5 acres in the headwaters of the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River on the Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District and the Lunch Peak Fire (lightning-caused) which was contained at 5.5 acres on the Sandpoint Ranger District.
The U.S. Forest Service would like to remind visitors to the Idaho Panhandle National Forests to be cautious with fire as more human-caused fires are occurring. The Forest is currently in “high” fire danger level, which means fires can start easily from most causes, and lighter fuels such as grasses and needles will ignite readily. Unattended campfires are more likely to escape and fire is more susceptible to spread easily which makes it even more important to make sure your fire is dead out before leaving it unattended. For questions about fire activity on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, please call 208-557-8813.
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