SUN VALLEY FIRE: Ski Resort and Surrounding Areas Still Threatened by Fire
The blaze, started by a lightning storm, required the evacuation of 2,000 homes and forced Sun Valley Ski Resort and 16,000 firefighters to work around the clock. As of Thursday morning, the fire was about 50 percent contained, but it was continuing to burn for the 15th straight day.
“The blaze is expected to be 75 percent contained or more by Friday,” according to Jack Sibbach, Sun Valley Ski Resort’s Director of Sales and Marketing. “We are anticipating a good day today [Thursday].”
However, the ski resort and its surrounding thousands of homes aren’t out of the woods yet. According to the Associated Press, fire managers said the winds from the thunderstorms expected to hit the area later this week could increase fire activity, so crews are working long hours building and reinforcing fire lines.
“We have burning embers landing in our parking lot at Smith and they are expecting more winds this weekend,” said Gabe Schroder, ski promotions manager for Smith Optics.
On Tuesday (August 28) morning, three-quarter-acre spot fires on Bald Mountain in Sun Valley Ski Resort were spotted and contained.
“Things are pretty bad here,” continued Schroder. “All of Warm Springs is evacuated, and the mountain was on fire again last night about 1000 feet above the halfpipe.”
Sun Valley began running their snowmaking machines on Sunday to prevent the blaze from crossing onto the resort boundary and to save the $12 million Seattle Ridge Ski Lodge.
“The fire hasn’t been in the bounds of the ski runs, besides a couple of spot fires,” said Sibbach. “No ski runs have been damaged.”
According to Scott USA’s Gabe Glosband from a Wednesday evening e-mail, he said the resort still looked to be okay. “The resort has witnessed some spot fires but the overall integrity of the lifts, structures and runs appears to be intact. Some back burning has occurred on the mountain, but I perceive this to be a good thing.”
Good news for the resort, however, the blaze is considered a high priority fire due to the thousands of homes around the resort and in near by Ketchum. The fire department stated the flames got within one and a half miles from residential areas at one point.
