Sheriff's Office rescinds evacuation orders for residents near South Yaak Fire

Following a weekend of minimal fire activity, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office rescinded evacuation orders for Kilbrennan Lake and Eastside roads near the South Yaak Fire on Monday.

The blaze had reached 10,388 acres with 34 percent containment as of Aug. 9. Officials had assigned one helicopter, 19 engines, one crew, three dozers and 216 personnel to the fire, according to a press release from Great Basin Incident Management Team Six.

In hopes of keeping the blaze from spreading across Eastside Road, firefighters were expected to fire an area of unburned vegetation on the northwest edge of the blaze. Fire managers will use heavy equipment to create an indirect fire line along O’Brien Road on the east and south sides of the blaze. Work on a fuel break will continue south of Seventeen Mile Creek.

Officials said firefighters would remove some pumps and hoses near Kilbrennan Lake Road. Residents of Kilbrennan Lake and Eastside roads formerly under evacuation orders were under a pre-evacuation warning as of Monday morning.

Officials had closed the Callahan Creek Road and Callahan Historic Trail 153 to the public as of Aug. 8 as fire management efforts continued on the Burnt Peak Fire. Officials put the blaze at 3,560 acres with 46 percent containment as of Aug. 9. Two helicopters, three engines, two dozers and 123 personnel were on the fire.

Firefighters were scheduled to chip and fell dead trees along Callahan Creek Road and identify areas for repair work east of the blaze. Officials temporarily closed the 414 Road to allow heavy equipment to work in the area. Fire managers planned to use unmanned aircraft to drop ignited plastic spheres on the northwest side of the blaze to even out unburned sections of the fire’s edge. This procedure would make it easier for firefighters to access the blaze’s perimeter.

Residents in North Fork Keeler Creek were still on pre-evacuation notice as of Monday.

While the region saw scattered showers and cool temperatures over the weekend, officials expect to see drier and warmer conditions for the remainder of the week.