Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Fire Fills Bitterroot with Smoke

A column of smoke spread into the Bitterroot Valley Sunday afternoon, August 21, from the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.

Though not officially confirmed, the smoke appears to be from the Cedar Fire on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, about 20 miles west of the Bitterroot Valley. KLYQ had received no official confirmation from Idaho fire officials by 5 p.m. Sunday. The photo (above) is from Hamilton looking west past Canyon Creek at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

The Cedar Fire, a wilderness fire, has been sporadic in its burning, with very little change in its acreage in the last week. The last official report put it at almost 3,000 acres.

The Cedar Fire was started by lightning July 17, 2 miles northwest of Elk Summit and 11 miles south of Powell Ranger Station. The fire was not threatening any structures as of the report.

Fire fighters at the Bitterroot's Roaring Lion Fire have also been receiving calls about the Idaho smoke.

By the way, the Roaring Lion Fire has been active in the hot, windy Sunday weather and is burning in the upper reaches of Ward Mountain with a small fire on the north side of the mountain in the Roaring Lion drainage and some fire in the Sawtooth canyon. The fire has burned 8,469 acres as of Sunday morning, according to the Incident Command posting.

Air quality in the Bitterroot Valley is expected to deteriorate with the addition of the Sunday smoke. Check the latest information from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.