UPDATE: Wapiti Fire Grips Idaho, Raises Questions On Prevention

FIRE UPDATE 090424: The Wapiti fire grew another 2,400 acres in size between Tuesday and Wednesday. Crews have the fire about 4 percent contained.

FIRE UPDATE 090324: Thanks to the efforts of the responders at the Wapiti Fire, and despite unfavorable conditions, the fire only grew a few acres yesterday. The Wapiti Fire is now around 108,017 acres, only up 31 acres from Monday.

FIRE UPDATE 090224: The Wapiti Fire is now near 110 thousand acres. Reports now have the total area burned at 107,986 acres (up from 97,753 Sunday) and the number of responders has increased to 1.5 thousand. Crews are expecting today to be more challenging due to the potential of strong winds and thunderstorms.

ORIGINAL STORY: One of the largest fires of the year in Idaho is the Wapiti fire, currently burning and zero percent contained.

The fire isn’t the largest Idaho fire of the year, but it has sparked a lot of conversation and debate about whether it could have been avoided or at least greatly diminished with a little work beforehand.

The Devastation of the Wapiti Fire in Idaho is Massive

The Wapiti Fire grew 10,000 acres from August 28th to the 29th and is zero percent contained, despite the efforts of 978 responders helping to battle the blaze. Reports list the fire at 89,714 acres after the fire was started by a lightning strike on July 24th.

The fire is burning around Stanley Lake and getting closer to the city of Stanley. The blaze is growing to the west of Sawtooth, Alpine, and Goat Lakes and only a few miles from the Bench Lake Fire from earlier this year near Redfish Lake. Residents of Stanley are under constant preparation for evacuation and updates are being made on the Wapiti Fire Information 2024 and Custer County Sheriff Facebook pages.

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The fire is a terrifying sight as it burns thousands of acres near popular campgrounds and residential areas.

The fire is controversial because many people believe that with proper wilderness and forest management the fire could have been easier to contain. Removal of long-dead trees, the perfect kindling in a lightning strike, could have been removed and possibly saved thousands of acres of live wilderness.

Authorities believe that the current dry conditions and wind forecast will make battling the blaze difficult for crews and add to the potential for fire growth.