Cougar Creek, Idaho, Fire Grows to Nearly 10,800 Acres

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(TNS) – The Cougar Creek Fire burning in southern Asotin County surpassed the 10,000-acre mark Monday, according to the latest updates from officials.

Nick Bacon, emergency management director, told the Asotin County commissioners the fire is 23 percent contained, and 10,766 acres have been burned as of Monday evening.

Robert Bell, a retired U.S. Forest Service liaison officer, has been helping the incident team managing the fire in Asotin, Garfield and Wallowa counties.

“This team has been aggressive, and the weather has been unforgiving,” Bell said at Monday’s board meeting. “The biggest problem is resources. We have to do the best we can with what we have.”

Bell, who has several decades of fire management experience, lives in Asotin County and volunteered to help with providing information to local landowners. He expects to see some fire growth, mostly on national forest ground as the fire moves west and north.

“It’s my honor and privilege to help the community,” Bell said. “My experience working with the county on this has been excellent.”

Asotin County Fire Chief Noel Hardin said Bell has been volunteering his time for his fire district on a regular basis for almost nine years. “Bob has been an incredible resource for the county,” Hardin said.

A Cougar Creek Fire community discussion is planned for 5 p.m. today at Bartlett Lane Union Park in Oregon, which is approximately 33 miles southwest of Anatone. Fire managers and the incident commander will present status updates and answer questions at the gathering.

A Cougar Creek Fire 2024 Facebook page also has been created to keep folks up to date. Daily operations briefing are posted each morning.

The fire, which started July 15, is burning west of Washington State Route 129 and the Grande Ronde River intersection, about 26 miles southwest of Clarkston. Nine hand crews are working on suppression efforts, along with 40 engines and six water trucks. Air responders have dropped 21,798 gallons of retardant, according to the incident management team.

Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com.

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