New numbers from Elmore County show a total of 38 homes and 43 outbuildings have burned in the Elk Complex fire.
Elmore County officials have said the majority of the structure loss came in the Fall Creek area when it burned quickly and with little notice over the weekend. The assessment of the area wrapped up Wednesday.
The Elk Complex wildfire has burned 112,000 acres in six days. It’s 25 percent contained. More than 850 people are now working the fire - a significant increase from earlier in the week.
A spokeswoman for the team managing the fire fight says if conditions permit Wednesday night, firefighters plan to begin two nights of aerial burnouts between the towns of Pine and Featherville.
Jennifer Myslivy says as of Wednesday evening, it looks like conditions will allow those operations to begin. She says the work is part of fire managers ultimate goal of steering the blaze toward the burn scar from last year’s Trinity Ridge fire and other open wilderness areas.
The Elmore County Sheriff’s Office has established a hotline for property owners to check the status of their homes. That number is 208-653-2505. As of Wednesday evening, homeowners were not being allowed back into the burned areas, and it’s not yet clear when that will happen. More information will be provided at a public meeting in Mountain Home on Thursday. That will start at 6:00 p.m. at the Elks Lodge.
You can see aerial video of the fire's path here.
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