BY KAREN BOSSICK

Firefighters have been working to contain a fire that started on Sunday near Alturas Lake.

And they've been having good success. The fire is now 50 percent contained due in part to the retardant that air crews were able to drop

The Cabin Creek Fire is about one mile northwest of Alturas Lake near Sawtooth City. It is 20 miles south of Stanley.

It had grown to seven acres by 1 p.m. on Monday and fire officials say it has remained at 7 acres.

The fire was reported about 1 p.m. Sunday, July 12, by a camper from Twin Falls who noted a column of smoke. The Smiley Creek Rural Fire Department was the first to respond.

The fire grew from an estimated 0.1 acre to about five by evening. It expanded about two more acres overnight with what firefighters called “creeping behavior.”

Fire officials on Sunday ordered two large air tankers, four single engine air tankers, one Type 2 helicopter and one Type 1 helicopter.

On the ground they had four engines and two suppression modules, plus the help of an  interagency hotshot crew and Type 2 initial attack crew that arrived Monday.

Crews hiked into the area to secure the perimeter and tamp down spot fires. Helicopters dropped buckets of water taken from Alturas Lake to reduce the heat so they could work.

Homeowners in the Valley View/Pettit area north of Alturas Lake along Cabin Creek Road were put on Level 2 SET Evacuation Status, meaning they should be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice. Cabin Creek Road has been closed.

The Martin Canyon Fire, which started Thursday, July 9, on BLM land in Muldoon Canyon east of Bellevue, is now at 100 percent containment after burning 1,065 acres. An individual admitted to starting it with fireworks.

A fire was reported northwest of Ketchum and east of Hyndman Peak at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 11. It was contained at 0.1 acre.