STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Rob and Melody Anderson had just returned home to get medication for their horse whom they are treating for an injury Tuesday afternoon when the wind kicked up.

It picked up a few hot embers from a fire that had laid low after an hour’s worth of rain. And, all of a sudden, the Glendale Fire was raging again, racing across one of the ridgelines out Rock Creek.

“The helicopter had been dropping water, going further out Rock Creek, then the wind kicked up about 3 o’clock and it couldn’t stay on top of it,” recounted Anderson. “Two air tankers returned, dropping retardant, and the helicopter kept dropping water. And there were a couple dozers cutting fire lines.”

A dust devil tears down the hill behind a sheep wagon that firefighters were able to save during Monday’s conflagration.

Just like that, the Andersons were evacuated for the second time in three days. This time they took their neighbors’ dogs with them, since their neighbors hadn’t been able to get back in and get the dogs after being evacuated on Monday night.

Firefighters did a backburn near the Anderson’s home and others in the Rancho Cielo area Tuesday evening. And they successfully extended a fire line around the section of the 7,546-acre fire that had moved beyond containment earlier in the day.

Anderson said he could see the fire in the distance Labor Day evening as it came over the ridge from the Glendale Road area where it had started at about 1:40 p.m. that afternoon.

“Vance Hanawalt and I went down the road where we saw it coming, but we didn’t think it would get to us so we went back home. Then I remember looking out the window and, thinking, ‘Wow! this thing’s really going again. The speed at which the fire moved was pretty spectacular from where we saw it coming to going home and getting all our stuff to leave. Whoa! It traveled miles in maybe a half-hour.”

The fire hit an old burn from five years ago that helped lose some of its energy, Anderson said. And the air tankers were skilled at dropping retardant just at the right time to save a neighbor’s home and sheep wagon.

“It’s spectacular to watch and see how detailed and accurate they are following the plane ahead of them that’s marking it. The firemen, the policemen and the pilots—the work they do is just spectacular. People  get frustrated because they’re not allowed to be on their property, but at the end of the day they’re looking out for our properties and our lives.”

Anderson said he has gotten just seven hours of sleep the past few days but he’s buoyed by the many people who have offered he and his wife a place to stay.

“What a community! When something comes up, you’ve always got somebody out there to help you.”

That extends to the youth, too, he added.

“When the fire hit, we were scrambling because it was coming and didn’t look good at all. And there’s these two kids—maybe 15 years old—who jumped in and said, ‘What can we do?’ They helped us load up eight horses and a bunch of dogs between our property and our neighbor’s. And, when they were done, they left—I never even got their names. But they were impressive.”

Wednesday evening Anderson and his neighbors got word that they could return to their home, provided they manage situational awareness. All of Croy Canyon is now in a Level One Be Ready stage, which is the lowest pre-evacuation stage. Those who do not live west of Rock Creek Road are asked to stay away for now.

WAPITI FIRE UPDATE

While residents in the Rock Creek area west of Hailey waited for evacuations to be lifted, Zone 1 residents evacuated because of the Wapiti Fire threatening Iron Creek and other neighborhoods near Stanley received word on Wednesday that they will be allowed back home today—Thursday, Sept. 5.

Zone 1 is returning to SET status at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, meaning they should still have things ready to go at a moment’s notice. Residents should go to the checkpoint to get a pass.

The fire has burned 112,321 acres, up from about 110,000 acres the day before; containment is at 8 percent, up from 4 percent. Currently, 1,513 personnel are working on the fire, which was started July 24 by lightning near Grandjean.

Thunderstorms built over the fire on Tuesday, increasing fire activity as firefighters tried to hold established fire lines. There were 300 strikes to the ground in the area of the fire.

Air resources have been able to support firefighters due to clearer air, but heavy smoke moving in from fires started by lightning in Eastern Oregon could hamper that. There is still heat near Iron Creek and in the Sawtooth Wilderness, but Nip and Tuck area is in good shape.

Growth is expected to take place in the Wilderness area in the south and on western flanks, thanks to downed timber and other heavy dry fuels and increasing high pressure with warm temperatures.

Firefighters are extending the fire line from Redfish by prepping along the Decker Flats Road south past the Fish Hatchery in order to check the fire’s spread if it moves out of the Sawtooth Wilderness towards Highway 75.

To the west the fire is active around Copper Mountain where it is progressing down to Highway 21.

There will be a community meeting at the Stanley Community Building at 6 tonight—Thursday, Sept. 5.

CUPPAJOE FOR FIREFIGHTERS:

The Sun Valley Culinary Institute filled a truck with food and Sun Valley Culinary Institute-prepared meals, plus $2,400 in cash donations, that Wood River Valley residents donated on behalf of volunteer firefighters in Stanley over Labor Day Weekend.

Now, the Institute is collecting coffee donations, such as large Folgers tubs, sweetener and creamer that it will truck north to the fire lines. They can be dropped off at the Institute on Main Street.

Meanwhile, Sarah Howe reports that Saturday's Sip n' Shop at J. McLaughlin to benefit the volunteer firefighters in Stanley was robustly attended. She even had call-ins from shoppers living as far away as Washington, D.C., and California who read about the benefit in Eye on Sun Valley.

J. McLaughin will host a Sip n' Shop for Stella's Shelter Fund from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, with 15 percent of sales benefiting the charity that gives funds to underfunded animal shelters and rescues.

DISCOUNTED LODGING

The Ketchum Limelight Hotel has announced that it is offering a special rate to those affected by the Wapiti Fire. The idea: To give Stanley residents a chance to get out of the smoke, rest and recover…or just get off the couch. Call 855-441-2250 and ask for the Wapiti Fire Community Support Rate.