DAYVILLE — Firefighters were bracing for windy conditions that could cause flareups and threaten containment lines on the Rail Ridge Fire, fire managers said in an update on Friday, Oct. 4.

With hunting season starting, parts of some wildlife management units in the fire area remain closed to public access. State wildlife managers released a map (attached to this story) that shows the location of the closed areas.

The fire, burning just south of Dayville, is currently estimated at 167,718 acres and 89% containment. A total of 617 personnel are assigned to the blaze.

A critical weather day is expected Friday afternoon over the Rail Ridge Fire, officials said. A cold front will pass over the fire around noon with wind gusts of 25-30 mph from the southwest switching to westerly/northwesterly with increasing gusts of 30-35 mph as the front passes. Going into the weekend, calmer winds and higher relative humidity will be present over the fire area.

Thursday, in the Black Canyon Wilderness, on the south side of Black Canyon Creek, the fire continued to burn toward the west. Crews and dozers continued constructing contingency control lines around the north and west sides in preparation for Friday’s weather.

Uncontained areas on the north side of the fire that are inaccessible due to steep terrain were monitored and stayed in place throughout the day. One small slopover was found on the overnight IR flight on the eastern line of the fire and was suppressed early in the day.

In anticipation of the strong south/southwest winds predicted for Friday, crews worked with a helicopter dropping water on the hottest areas on the eastern edge of the fire footprint. All around the contained fire edge, firefighters continued mop-up, patrol and suppression repair.

On Friday, firefighters will be on a heightened alert for the high winds and low relative humidities predicted for the afternoon hours. There is potential for high fire activity in the wilderness and areas throughout the fire that continue to have heat and areas of unburned fuels within the fire footprint.

Firefighters continue to work the eastern edge of the fire to mop up heat along the fire’s edge that will be tested by the south/southwesterly winds predicted for this afternoon.

Firefighters will continue to construct contingency control lines and strengthen containment around the Black Canyon Wilderness, adding depth to lines that are already in place as the weather allows. Suppression repairs are ongoing with resource advisors, and mop-up and patrolling will continue around the contained portions of the fire.

Much higher relative humidity, cooler night temperatures, and moderating winds through the weekend will be a welcome weather break for fire personnel.

A cold start in the morning hours Friday will lead to similar temperatures as yesterday in the low 70s. Expect gusts of wind between 25 and 35 mph throughout the afternoon before weather conditions moderate and steady out towards the weekend.

Level 1 evacuations in Grant County were dropped Thursday and the Level 2 evacuations remain. Wheeler County evacuations remain the same.

For current evacuation levels for all affected counties,  visit https://linktr.ee/RailRidgeFire.

The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have implemented closures for the Rail Ridge Fire. For more details and closure maps, visit https://linktr.ee/RailRidgeFire.

Rail Ridge Fire at a Glance

Acres: 167,718

Containment: 89%

Detection: 09/02/24

Cause: Lightning

Personnel: 617