The Kootenai River Complex is expected to transition back to the Bonners Ferry Ranger District this weekend.
Over the next several days, some fire crews will have reached the end of the assignment period or are shifting efforts to other objectives such as suppression repair.
In addition, with fire objectives remaining 85% complete, fire behavior has become a little more active in the last day or two, causing widespread smoke and fog at lower elevations due to an inversion layer coupled with light winds, officials said. Fire progression monitoring is still a challenge for operations at night and in the early mornings, including the ability to monitor control lines by air, they said in a Tuesday press release.
“Dead and down heavy fuels continue to be the main carrier of fire, particularly on the southern and eastern slopes.