BY KAREN BOSSICK

Firefighters are to be commended for their hasty response to the Lake Creek fire, which started on sagebrush and foot-tall grass six miles north of Ketchum Sunday.

And Mother Nature did her part to help, as well, sending between .06 and .09 inch of rain late Monday night and early Tuesday morning plus gobs more on Thursday after a very dry summer.

Through this week Ketchum had received 10.90 inches of rain on the year compared with 17.88 inches average. And, while the Sun Valley area didn’t get the record rainfall Boise got on Monday, nor the flash floods that Twin Falls saw, the rain K-Town got felt like a lot.

Firefighters have remained hard at work on the Lake Creek Fire, addressing standing hazard trees and active burning still taking place in heavy fuels and stump holes on the northeast side of the fire.

According to Sawtooth National Forest officials, they canvassed a fuel break up the slope from Lake Creek Road to the top of the ridge separating Lake Creek drainage from the Eagle Creek drainage, finding minimal heat. They planned to address the hot spots they found and widen the secured edge on Thursday.

They used heavy equipment to construct water bars across fire lines and disturbed soil to divert surface water and prevent erosion.

They knocked down a dozer berm.

And they continued to ferry smokejumpers to the fire to tackle heat and burning on the canyon’s steep slopes on Wednesday.

Despite progress, the “Ready” status evacuation level for those living on the east side of Highway 75 in the Lake Creek and Eagle Creek neighborhoods remains in place. That means residents should have important papers and prescriptions ready to go and maintain situational awareness.