The Beaver Creek fire is now 67 percent contained. The jump in fire line construction comes after several days of milder weather, including overnight rain that helped control the flames.
This change in weather has brought good news to residents in the Wood River Valley: all remaining pre-evacuation notices were lifted this afternoon. The Blaine County Sheriff's office asks that people in the area should "maintain situational awareness" in case the fire poses a direct threat again.
Some BLM and Forest Service land remains closed, however. Here's the full update from the sheriff's office:
UPDATE....AUGUST 23, 2013 12:00 p.m. PRE-EVACUATION NOTIFICATION LIFTED At this time the Blaine County Sheriff is announcing that all CURRENT Beaver Creek Fire PRE-EVACUATION ZONES ARE BEING LIFTED for Blaine County Effective 12:00 p.m. August 23, 2013 Residents are asked to maintain situational awareness AT ALL TIMES and to depart again IMMEDIATELY should conditions change or they are in danger. The Sheriff is encouraging the public to respect the privacy of residents in the worst affected fire areas and remain clear of those areas so those residents have time to assess their fire damages. Note: The following areas REMAIN CLOSED at this time: FOREST SERVICE CLOSURE AREAS **Galena Summit south to the SNRA Headquarters on both sides of Hwy 75 including Baker Creek and Easley For information about this closures see www.fs.usda.gov BLM CLOSURE AREA **Croy Creek Canyon west of Red Elephant Gulch Rd. For information about this closure see www.blm.gov\id We will continue to analyze fire activity to determine if conditions warrant altering current evacuation zones. Thank you for your cooperation.