Lower Granite Fire burns homes and thousands of acres north of Pomeroy

The Lower Granite Fire north of Pomeroy burned more than 14,000 acres and consumed two homes and several outbuildings as it raced east from Deadman Canyon Monday.

James Cleveland, chief of the Garfield County Fire District, said one of the homes was occupied and one was unoccupied. One person assisting the suppression effort suffered minor burns when the tractor he was operating caught fire. Cleveland said the tractor caught fire on its own and was not a direct result of the wildfire.

The fire was mapped at nearly 14,500 acres on Tuesday and remains zero percent contained. Cleveland said it started Monday next to a structure on Deadman Road. Crews from his department responded and initially worked on the structure. Other firefighters who followed tried to stop it from spreading but were not successful.  

“It literally just outran them,” he said.

Crews from fire departments in Asotin County, Clarkston, Pullman, Walla Walla and Columbia County provided mutual aid. Farmers also participated in the initial attack and used discs to carve fire lines on the edges of crop fields.

State mobilization was declared and the Northeast Washington Incident Command Team 1, a Type 3 team, took control of firefighting efforts Tuesday morning. The team is working out of Pomeroy High School.

Isabelle Hoygaard, a spokesperson for  the team said the farmers and firefighters were successful in getting some lines established but it will be a challenge to build lines down into the steep river canyons and side draws.

Level 2 and Level 1 evacuation notices are in place near the fire. A map is available at bit.ly/3WqcZNB

Gwen Fire

Containment on the Gwen Fire reached 34 percent Tuesday. The fire burning in the lower Potlatch River Canyon, along the Clearwater River between Arrow and Cherrylane and along lower Cottonwood Creek and the upper reaches of Tom Beall Creek remained at 28,805 acres Tuesday. Fire information officer Kathryn Abrahamson said firefighters took advantage of rain that fell Monday night and Tuesday morning.

“They feel good about their progress,” she said.

Firefighters continue to work on structure protection and to hold the fire at Pine Creek.

The Latah County and Nez Perce County sheriff’s offices both dropped all evacuation warnings to Level 1 Tuesday. Uner Level 1, the lowest level in the evacuation system, people living near the fire are advised to be ready to evacuate.

Firefighters from the Idaho Department of Lands were able to circle the 70-acre Steelhead Fire about 12 miles north of Riggins and are working on mop up.

The Cherry Fire 3 miles northeast of Riggins has burned about 60 acres.

The 17,600-acre Cougar Creek Fire burning along the Grande Ronde River is 29% contained.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273.