Activity from the Mustang Complex fire is causing more evacuations along the Highway 93 corridor. Over the weekend the fire grew more than 20,000 acres, and is within a mile and a half of North Fork.
About 400 people between Quartz Creek and North Fork have been asked to evacuate, including residents in Gibbonsville.
"We’re here for them and we’re going to do everything we can to protect lives and property," says information officer Melissa Yunas. The North Fork fire station has set up an information center where people can get maps, photos and other resources. The Salmon Valley Baptist Church has been converted to a Red Cross evacuation shelter.
Yunas says that some residents have gone to stay with relatives. But others in the evacuation area have chosen to stay. She encourages them to take the evacuation notice seriously before the fire gets to their doorstep.
"When the fire does approach those areas the smoke’s just going to be so intense that they might not be able to see the road ahead of them or they’ve clogged up the road for emergency vehicles to come in."
So far fire crews have been able to prevent destruction of homes and businesses, but predications of windy and extremely dry conditions could present a challenge.
Copyright 2012 Boise State Public Radio