As of Monday, July 20, the Blaine County Sheriff's Office is downgrading evacuation orders for the Indian Creek and Ohio Gulch zones near Hailey to level two 'be set' evacuation warnings. Residents are being allowed back into their homes at 9 p.m.
The Ohio Fire was first reported early Saturday afternoon off Ohio Gulch Road northeast of Hailey. In a social media post Monday, the Blaine County South Fire Protection District said crews had made good progress on the blaze and full containment is estimated by 6 p.m. Tuesday evening. Containment by that time is contingent on favorable weather conditions, fire behavior and operational needs.
In an update posted to its Facebook page Monday evening, the Blaine County Sheriff's Office says public recreation in those areas remains closed, and Indian Creek Road will be open only to local residents. Ohio Gulch Road, the transfer station and Valley Club are reopening to the public.
Level two, 'be set' evacuation warnings also remain in place for The Hiawatha zone, just northeast of Hailey, off Buttercup Road, and the East Fork-Triumph zone, about two miles east of Highway 75 up East Fork Road.
Blaine County Emergency Evacuation Map
The public continues to be asked to stay out of evacuated areas for the safety of first responders and residents.
The Red Cross earlier Monday stood down an evacuation shelter at Life Church on McKercher Blvd. due to no demand for shelter services.
Blaine County Sheriffs said Sunday they have received a video which appears to show the origination of the Ohio Fire and are reviewing it as part of the investigation.
Fire crews from Blaine County and the Bureau of Land Management/USWFS have been joined by departments from across the region, including Sun Valley Fire, Gooding Fire, Twin Falls Fire, Bellevue Fire and Carey Fire, according to the Blaine County South Fire Protection District.
Nationally, The National Interagency Fire Center increased the national fire preparedness level to 5 on Saturday, its highest.
Fire officials say 19,397 firefighters are currently deployed across the country, battling 74 large fires. The amount of resources deployed over a wide geographic area led to the preparedness level increase. NIFC is also receiving multiple large tanker planes from Air National Guard units in Colorado, California and Wyoming to support firefighting efforts across the West.
To date, NIFC reports 40,771 fires this season have burned 3.9 million acres.
This is a breaking news story and has been updated.
