BY KAREN BOSSICK

After doubling on Saturday, the Bench Lake fire one mile west of Redfish Lake more than doubled on Sunday as the acreage consumed by fire increased from 150 acres to 350.

Increased winds paused the ability of aircraft to collect water from Redfish Lake about 5:30 p.m. and windy conditions prompted the fire to grow as it headed into dense vegetation with a lot of pine beetle kill.

The west end of the fire is active with torching of trees but there is not a big crown fire spread, said Stanley Mayor Stephen Botti. The fire is zero percent contained.

The Stanley area had light sprinkles on Sunday with moderate winds. Today’s weather is expected to be cooler than it has been with a high of 883 degrees and a low of 42 degrees. Humidity was 65 percent Sunday night, which should help firefighters, but it’s expected to be windy on Monday with winds Norwest at 10 miles per hour.

Fire engines are in place to offer protection for Redfish Lodge and other structures, and hot shot crews are figuring out where they can dig hand lines and utilize natural features such as rock screes to begin containing the fire perimeter.

A total of 211 firefighters are now working the fire.

Ground crews have been told to exercise extreme caution because of the hazard posed by snags—dead and diseased trees in the area, said Nick Siemers, planning chief for the Great Basin Incident Command Team 4. Siermers said the firefighters are not using retardant because of the risk it poses to fish in waterways. The water drops firefighters are making are "super effective," he said--they're able to scoop water out of Redfish lake and get it on the fire in less than five minutes.

An initial attack team is onsite, ready to attack new fire starts.

The Redfish Lake recreational area remains closed for the safety of the public and to ensure open water for water-scooping aircraft currently collecting water from the lake.

Smoke could be smelled in the Wood River Valley only periodically at times on Sunday. But some people said they could see an orange glow to the north as they drove up the valley Saturday night.

Winds shifted direction, gusting out of the north Sunday evening, pushing smoke south of the Stanley Basin.

The U.S. Forest Service plans to host meetings to provide the public with information about the fire in coming days.

UPDATE AS OF 10 A.M. MONDAY

The fire has grown to 738 acres. Cooler temperatures and higher humidity aided firefighting efforts on Sunday. Crews focused on containing small fires outside of the main fire, primarily along the Redfish to Bench Lakes trail.

Scooping aircraft and helicopters delivered more than 370,000 gallons of water from Redfish Lake onto the fire.

Tuesday begins a drying trend with a chance of thunderstorms later in the week. Water pumps and hoses are being deployed near Redfish Lodge and other structures.