Bee Top News Today

Crews made significant gains on the Consalus Fire, doubling containment to 20%, fire officials said Friday. Containment is expected to grow even more in the coming days, Northern Rockies Type 3 incident management team officials said.

With hotter and drier weather on the horizon, increased smoke and fire activity on the Consalus Fire is possible. However, an infrared flight Wednesday morning showed fire lines were holding and strategic firing operations were successful, Northern Rockies Type 3 incident management team officials said. A strategic firing operation involves the controlled use of low-intensity fire to reduce fuels and add depth to firelines.

An infrared flight earlier this week showed significantly less heat along the Consalus Fire’s eastern edge. That flight has fire managers from the Northern Rockies Type 3 incident management team assessing current fire lines to determine where they might be considered contained. Containment is when a control line has been completed and can reasonably be expected to stop a fire from spreading.

With containment of the Bee Top Fire approaching 90%, control of the fire is being returned to Idaho Panhandle National Forests officials. Over on the Consalus Fire, the lightning-caused blaze inched upward to 444 acres and some of the resources from the Bee Top are being diverted to the Pend Oreille County fire.

While it was quickly extinguished thanks to extensive air support, investigators say the Candle Hill Fire is suspicious and are seeking information on the blaze. Meanwhile, crews have brought the Bee Top Fire on the Sandpoint Ranger District to 78% containment and crews continued to hold the line on the Consalus Fire, located on the Priest River Ranger District.

Crews made significant strides to bring the Bee Top Fire under control with containment estimated at 46%. Significant strides also were made on the Consalus Fire where crews are making steady progress.

While the Consalus Fire continues to grow, so does the number of firefighters assigned to the fire as crews continue to make gains to bring the fire under greater containment. On the Bee Top Fire, firefighters made significant gains, bringing containment to 35 percent.

Crews are headed up to the mid-mountain camp as they continue to fight the Bee Top Fire. On the Consalus Fire, firefighters kept a handle on the fire's northern edge, keeping growth of the fire to a minimum.

After Monday's storm put a halt to their efforts, helicopter crews dropping water on the Bee Top Fire got back to work Tuesday. The cold front which brought strong winds, rain and lightning to the region kept the fire crews in the lower elevations, Idaho Panhandle National Forest officials said.

Fire crews are making strides to contain the Bee Top Fire located 5 miles northeast of town. Crews continue to build an indirect fireline adjacent to the Lightning Creek river bottom and to the ridge to the southwestern portion of the fire. In addition, the Boise Interagency Hot Shot Crew removed hazard tree and built an indirect fireline to a ridge southwest of the fire, moving from the river bottom to a temporary camp midway up the slope.