Chippy Creek Fire quiet

The Daily Inter Lake

Crews on the Chippy Creek Fire continued to take advantage of favorable weather Tuesday, using the respite to finish mopping up spot fires pushed over the containment line by last weekend's cold front.

The blaze, located about 20 miles north of Plains and 12 miles northwest of Hot Springs, remained at 99,090 acres.

"They are gradually making progress," said fire information officer Gary Hoshide. "It's been really quiet, in fact."

Meteorologists expect the weather to warm up throughout the rest of the week as a ridge of high pressure builds over the fire. Friday could see temperatures in the 80s. A cold front bringing higher winds should move through the area from the southwest by this weekend.

Similar weather conditions last weekend forced the estimated containment date, initially set for earlier this week, to be pushed back to Saturday.

The fire was 80 percent contained late Tuesday, Hoshide said.

Crews continued mop up along the fire's edge to further strengthen the fire line Tuesday, especially in the fire's more active northwest corner, and worked on an active portion of the fire's southwest corner near Alder Creek. They also built water bars across bulldozer lines to prevent soil erosion. A four-acre burnout was successfully conducted along the fire's north central section.

The fire's incident command post was moved to the Marion fire camp over the weekend to be closer to the fire's most active portion. A smaller camp will be maintained in Plains to continue suppression activities on the fire's southern portion, Hoshide said.

Residents on Hubbard Dam Road were allowed to return to their homes Friday, but the road remains closed to the public because of fire traffic.

There are 735 people on the fire, which has cost more than $14 million to fight to date.