Wildfire Alert: Sunset Fire – Current as of 9:13 AM PT on 8/24/2025
Idaho Department of Lands sent this bulletin at 08/24/2025 10:17 AM MDTHaving trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.
Sunset Fire
Morning Update
August 24, 2025
Fire Information: 208-990-1881
Email: 2025.sunset@firenet.gov
Northern Rockies Team 5, Incident Commander Joe Sampson
Location: On the western slope of Lake Pend Oreille, northeast of Athol, ID.
Start Date: 8/13/2025
Cause: Under investigation
Size: 3,230 acres
Containment: 24%
Total Personnel: 688
Evacuation orders are still in effect.
Roads in SET and roads in GO are listed on
InciWeb at this link.
The increase in acreage is due to more accurate mapping from overnight
infrared (IR) flights and not forward progression nor fire growth.
The public is reminded that Maiden Rock Campground, along the western shore of
Lake Pend Oreille and within the Forest Service closure area, is closed until further notice.
CURRENT STATUS
Hotshots and type 2 hand crews will work to complete a small section of fireline south of Maiden Creek along the western flank. A type 2 hand crew will work to complete the fireline on the southeastern edge near the lake and will secure and “mop up” areas of
residual heat. Hotshots will continue to secure and “mop up” areas of concentrated heat along the most active northern edge. This work is especially difficult due to the uneven, patchy pattern of burned and unburned fuels and steep terrain across much of the
fire area. In the northern-most area of the fire, hotshot crews remain camped, or “spiked out” near areas of the most concentrated heat.
Helicopters will continue to assist all firefighting efforts using water drops to support crews on the ground. Structure protection teams will continue to validate the protection measures in place. A portable dock will continue to be used to more safely insert
and extract crews from watercraft. From the lakeshore, watercraft inserted crews and provided support and lookouts. An Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) module with infrared (IR) capabilities will continue to provide information to crews on locations of hotspots
and residual heat.
WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR
As temperatures increase to the upper 80s to low 90s and relative humidity drops into the teens, visible smoke is likely as larger fuels burn. In the morning, northern winds will be primarily on ridgetops from 5 to 10 mph with gusts up to 15 mph, decreasing
in the afternoon. Light winds elsewhere will be terrain driven from 4 to 8 mph. Hot and dry conditions will continue across the area with increasingly poor overnight humidity recovery through mid-week.
Poor overnight recovery will extend active burn windows in the morning and evening, from around 10:00 am to 9:00 pm. Interior pockets of unburned fuel will burn, and growth is expected inside the existing fire perimeter where pockets of unburned fuel continue
to smolder and consume. Fire behavior with flanking, torching, flare ups, and short-range spotting up to ¼ mile will increase throughout the weekend and into early next week.
EVACUATIONS, RESTRICTIONS, CLOSURES
The Incident Management Team worked in conjunction with the Bonner County Sheriff's Office to clarify the narrative descriptions of the evacuation zones for the Sunset Fire.
Roads in SET and roads in GO are listed on
InciWeb at this link.
To receive the latest evacuation updates please sign up for Bonner County Nixle alerts via text. Text 888777 and enter your zip code.
There is an evacuation center at the Cocolalla Bible Camp to assist displaced residents. The Bonner County Fairgrounds are available to shelter evacuated livestock on a limited basis.
Area closures are in effect on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. The area closure encompasses all National Forest Service Lands (NFSL) along the western shoreline of Lake Pend Oreille, from Camp Bay south to Three Sisters Horizontal Control Station.
The closure extends west to Three Sisters Creek, then proceeds north to just south of National Forest Service Road (NFSR) 230. It then follows a stepped northeast path to Hickman Creek continuing east to the Forest Boundary and then heads north to Sagle Road.
From Sagle Road, the boundary extends east back to Camp Bay.
More information on Idaho Panhandle National Forests area closures can be found at:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/idahopanhandle/alerts
A Temporary flight restriction (TFR) is in place that restricts all aircraft (including drones) from operating in the fire area without permission.