Active Incidents

This page contains information about active moderate to large events. Not all events will show on the page.

Upper Smith Fire Update 7/12/2026 Morning

Date & Time: July 12, 2026 11:47 am

Hall Mountain Community!

Our volunteer firefighters are still working hard on structure protection and communication with the residents. They are also supporting the US Forest Service by pumping water from local sources with Hall Mountain Fire’s portable trailer hydrant.

Tomorrow evening, Monday July 12th, the US Forest Service will be hosting a community meeting at Bonner’s Ferry High School, 6485 Tamarack Lane at 6PM.

We hope to have a representative there; however, the meeting will be recorded and posted on Idaho Panhandle National Forest’s Facebook Page.

Per the US Forrest Service – Idaho Panhandle National Forrest

Current Status: The Upper Smith Fire is currently burning on a north aspect in steep, rugged terrain. The primary objective is full suppression utilizing indirect confinement strategies due to terrain and firefighter safety considerations. To keep the fire’s footprint small, personnel are actively evaluating opportunities to engage directly where terrain, fire behavior and safety allow, while also assessing the potential for strategic firing operations if needed. Ground crews have made significant headway constructing hand and dozer lines. Aviation support remains active, with multiple helicopters conducting water drops throughout the day Saturday.

Planned Actions: Crews will continue constructing and tying together hand and dozer lines and natural barriers where possible. Multi-engine scooper planes are now assigned to the fire and will be pulling water out of Priest Lake to assist ground efforts. Helicopters will continue being utilized. Fire managers will assess fire behavior to identify safe, direct containment opportunities where possible.

Read the full update HERE.

Upper Smith Fire Update 7/11/2026 5:22 PM

Date & Time: July 12, 2026 11:11 am

There is currently no containment. However, the movement has been reduced considerably due to the efforts of state and local agencies.

Per Watch Duty: The fire is 414.5 acres per the perimeter uploaded to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), which is visible on the Watch Duty map under the Active Fire Perimeters map layer.

Upper Smith Fire 7/11/2026 4:06 PM

Date & Time: July 12, 2026 11:01 am

Sorry for the late in the day update! We (chief Hanner’s wife and kids) have been busy shopping and making food for our dedicated Hall Mountain Fire Volunteers! With that, we want to give a big shout out to our amazing community that donates every year to our auxiliary so that we can provide nutritious meals, water, and electrolytes to the guys that donates every year so much of their time keeping us safe!

Currently there are US Forest Service crews actively fighting the fire from both air and the ground (their update is below). Our guys are focusing on structure protection and working closely with the residents to keep everyone safe and prepared.

If you have specific questions about your property or to support our local firefighters, please email us at info@hallmountainfire.com. We will also be posting updates on our dedicated incident page@hallmountainfire.com/incidents. Please note that we will only send out email blasts for safety or evacuation updates. Be sure to subscribe while you are at the site.

US Forest Service Update
A local Type 3 Incident Management Team assumed command of the Upper Smith Fire this morning as operations continue. Yesterday, favorable weather conditions allowed for an aggressive air attack with water-dropping helicopters and Large Air Tankers to slow the fire’s spread, paving the way for the newly inserted Idaho Panhandle Interagency Hotshot Crew and an additional hand crew to safely engage on the ground. Today, division personnel are out on the fire line improving access routes and conducting critical assessments to finalize structure protection plans, while ground crews and heavy equipment continue constructing containment lines with support from aviation assets as conditions allow.
Estimated Size: 242 acres
Containment: 0%
Personnel: 73

Upper Smith Fire Initial Update

Date & Time: July 10, 2026 1:18 pm

Attention Hall Mountain Community! Please read and share with your neighbors!

As many of you are aware, we have a fire burning on Forest Service Land on the west side in the Upper Smith Creek area. The U.S. Forest Service is currently handling the fire with the aid and cooperation of the Idaho Department of Lands and the Hall Mountain Volunteer Fire Association. There are crews actively fighting the fire and setting up containment, both on the ground and in the air. 

At this time, the fire is not contained and is estimated at 250 acres. The closest residents to the fire are 2 miles away. However, even with the current firefighting efforts and the distance from residents, the forecasted dry, hot winds could quickly change the situation.

We ask that residents of the Westside Rd area north of Copeland Rd, the valley floor, and between Highway 1 and Farm to Market Rd stay calm but prepared. We have volunteers going door-to-door around the North End of Westside Rd to discuss the fire and defensible space at their homes. The chance of the fire reaching the east side of the valley is low, but as we learned during the Parker Ridge Fire in 2015, not impossible. 

Please take the time to read the information provided on fire mitigation and what to do in the case of an evacuation.

To get the most up-to-date information, there are several options available. The Boundary County Sheriff’s Department has an app to relay public safety information that we encourage everyone to download (https://www.boundarysheriff.org/pages/get-the-mobile-app). Another extremely important app to download is WatchDuty, which provides fire updates and evacuation alerts (https://app.watchduty.org/). 

The Hall Mountain Volunteer Fire Association will also post updates and information on our Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/hallmountainVFD) and on the Hall Mountain Website (www.hallmountainfire.com), which includes a dedicated incident page. These options will be great for community-specific information.

If you need to contact someone directly, the Hall Mountain Fire Facebook page or info@hallmountainfire.com will both be manned during the day for the duration of the incident. If you have an urgent or emergency situation, please call 911 or our county dispatch direct contact line (208) 267-3151.

Stay safe and vigilant! 

Hall Mountain Fire Chief 
Ron Hanner

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kN-IwibC_kSrnD3GItPU5Dnsthp97GGz/view?usp=sharing

Hall Mountain Fire Safety Printout – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oMLUE05Lya9j_rdaZSGvzssoTduQegeC/view?usp=sharing