West Mullan Fire Day 6: Fire blazes at 4,550 acres

SUPERIOR – The mandatory evacuation of several areas in Mineral County were lifted Friday after the West Mullan Fire forced many to leave their homes earlier this week.

West Mullan Road east of Sunflower Lane is open to the public. Flat Creek Road inside city limits and East Mullan Road are both open to the public. West of Sunflower Lane is only open to residents.

Mineral County Environmental Health and Planning Administrator Tim Read said 15 homes around Sunnyside Lane would still be evacuated for a back burn planned Saturday morning.

According to InciWeb, the West Mullan Fire was at 4,550 acres and 23 percent contained Friday afternoon.

InciWeb also states the fire made short, uphill runs Friday with single and group tree torching.

High winds made containing the fire difficult as winds blowing west reached 18 miles per hour.

Fire crews worked throughout the day Friday to contain the fire via hand crews, three dozers, 10 water tenders and seven helicopters.

Late Friday afternoon, the helicopters could be seen flying in and out of the billowing smoke just north of Superior working to keep the fire contained.

Meanwhile at the Incident Camp in St. Regis, those of the 572 firefighters and other personnel working to contain the fire made camp and slept in tents in between shifts of battling the blaze. 

According to a press release, late Thursday night crews continued control and cooled hotspots along the southern and southwest sections of the fire. Engines and hoses protected the structures throughout the night along Flat Creek and Mullan Road.

Although, the acreage did grow over night, growth was minimal.

Mutual Aid Engines helped provide support to the local Superior Volunteer Fire Department with structure protection.

Friday’s operation consisted of protection, cooling out hotspots on the line adjacent to Superior, and fire activity monitoring along Mullan Road and in Flat Creek.

Hazardous trees and vegetation were removed along Keystone Creek Road to prepare for possible burnout operations.

The press release also stated that crews would be working between Keystone and Pardee Creeks, constructing firelines along the ridge between the two areas.

Hand crews and dozers worked on the northwest section of the fire.

In Wood Gulch a required burnout operation was finished and air operations continued to support the fire suppression efforts underway.

The team’s focus was primarily on securing the western and eastern sections of the fire to help achieve containment and continually protect the surrounding community of Superior.

The day was filled with warm, dry weather conditions with little humidity recovery. The weather pattern is assumed to continue into the weekend. Winds came from the west and northwest with guys in the 15 mph at ridge tops.

The press release stated the fire continues to be weather and topography driven and fire activity was expected to increase during the day.

Heavy smoke was found throughout the area, blanketing the valley and stretching down Interstate 90.

Closures: Two new trail orders have been added: Iron Mountain Trail 242 (known as Cascade Falls Trail) from above the falls to the junction with Forest Service Road 97 and National Forest System Trail 51(known as Ninemile Divide Trail) from the beginning at the intersection w/NFSR 582 Section 3, T17N, R25W to the intersection with NFSR 536 Section 30, T17N, R24W. New area closures include: All Forest Service lands within Slowey Campground and the area within the closure boundary, please see area map.  TheClark Fork River remains closed to the public from Big Eddy Fishing access to Slowey Campground. Vista Trail just north of Superior has been closed to public access.