Times-News

KETCHUM - As an army of firefighters continued to battle the Castle Rock Fire east of here Friday, managers of the 18,000-acre blaze said today's wind, heat and humidity will determine the fate of the nation's highest-priority wildfire.

Forecasts for today call for 20-25 mph winds, with gusts up to 35 mph.

Fire officials said they are concerned about the potential shift in weather, and are still conducting burnout operations to rid areas of fuels. They also are working hard to install dozer lines.

Dozer and hand lines between Bald Mountain and the Red Warrior area were still not complete Friday night.

Another area of concern is Fox Creek, where crews were trying to complete burnout operations by 1 a.m. today.

The fire acreage is increasing primarily due to the burnouts, said incident commander Jeanne Pincha-Tulley.

Acreage burned Friday was 18,005, with only 11 percent containment. About 1,250 firefighters were battling the blaze, along with 72 engines and a number of helicopters and fixed-wing tankers.

Burnouts in the Warm Springs/Upper Board Ranch Friday afternoon showed operations moving as planned. Griffin Butte, behind Hulen Meadows, showed several plumes of smoke and an occasional tongue of fire from torched trees, visible Friday at ridge tops from a viewpoint on Eagle Creek Road.

While crews battled the blazes, Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter received a standing ovation for an apology he made at a public meeting at Hemingway Elementary School. More than 300 Wood River Valley residents attended the meeting.

"I want to give an apology from my office. We did not realize the urgency until some time on Tuesday and until I received the seven plus calls from Sen. Clint Stennet that morning," Otter said.

"Again I apologize for not knowing the necessity of needing deployment of fire crews."

Trey Spaulding and Kathleen Turner from the Wood River Journal contributed to this report.