Saturday, August 15, 2021 the USFS called off the air and ground attack efforts to suppress the Boundary Fire yesterday afternoon. The decision was made after a grueling 5 days of non stop -12 hour aerial delivery of water and fire retardant. We were in a unique position to witness the event from our front lawn vantage point since our pond was one of the 2 water sources.
We watched the Boundary Fire continue to grow with spotting and flare ups in very rugged terrain. Firefighters have been injured and fatigued with severe dehydration. The USFS Fire decided that it would be more prudent to concentrate their resources on perimeter protection at Sulphur Creek Ranch, Morgan Ranch, and the Boundary Creek Guard Station and Boundary Creek Boat Ramp.
The fire blew up from the ignition center on the heel of the North end of the fire (which is on the ridge to our Southeast) Saturday afternoon after the air support was called off.
The Idaho City and the Sawtooth Hot Shot teams arrived here yesterday promptly at 8 am. They quickly made short work with chainsaws to create a defensible area west of the barn and the lodge on our property. I have never witnessed so much work get done in such a concise and seemingly effortless manner. Even the slash piles, and there are bountiful, are clean and organized!
They also made quick work of clearing defensible tree line around the pond and clearing some of the damaged trees from the 5 days of helicopter rotor wash.
The pond has transformed from looking a bit rough with all of the blown over pines to a finely manicured resort now! Who ever said there wasn't a silver lining to everything?
We met with the Salmon Challis District Ranger along with 3 other USFS Fire Personal yesterday as they made a dedicated trip into the ranch to discuss the plan for "what's next"?
ValDean and I want you to know that in this effort, they tried their best to put this fire out! Unusually high temperatures, the drought like conditions, and the typical afternoon winds didn't help the situation. In fact, it exacerbated the problem of trying to contain the fire within the fire lines. The steep terrain combined with the subalpine fuel, shot off embers which spotted to another location and off it went again...
What's next...
We wait, watch, and wonder what's next...so many unknowns and so many "what-ifs..."
Hot Shots left this morning after setting up extensive sprinkler lines and water pumps around our structures. As I remember from the last 4 forest fires, we will run the sprinklers 2 times a day to create a relative level of humidity around the ranch.
There will be a crew here to monitor the fire and man the sprinklers but we are not sure of the numbers and/or the time frame.
Forecast is for temperatures to drop into the 70-'s tomorrow and rain on Wednesday. If you would like to help, pray or do several rain dances...we desperately need the rain and the prayers!
Closing thought thought for the day!
When folks want to learn how to ride a horse, they think that means "get on and go" !
My advice is: "sit on the fence and watch the horses and how they interact with each other for a week. Learn their language!"
I decided to follow my own advice and stood with the Incident Commanders on the runway for a few hours today just watching the fire as it progressed into the timber in various directions. I asked a lot of questions and listened a lot... Listened to the IC's conversate and continued watching the flame, the smoke, the fire...what's next?
Remember to never lose your ability to wait, watch, and wonder...
It builds character and adds to your wisdom collection!
Kiere Schroeder