Sun Valley is on Fire

Plum Sun Valley

While we’re complaining of the heat here at the beach, things are really heating up in Sun Valley, Idaho. Wildfire is burning much of the area, threatening many structures and lives. Luckily, our Plum family in the valley is faring okay.

So far, the Castle Rock fire, sparked on August 17 by lightning, has burned well over 64 square miles (over 44,000 acres) of the valley and the west side of Bald Moutain, and has prompted the evacuation of nearly 2,000 residents. The fire is about 49 percent contained and, fortunately, there have been no deaths or structural losses.

About 1,650 firefighters from around the country and Puerto Rico are fighting the blaze. Strategies include:

• Back burning (a control burn in front of the fire that burns back to the main blaze, eliminating potential fuel for the wildfire)
• Fire retardant and water dumped from helicopters
• Snowmaking guns to soak the ground around Sun Valley’s $12 million ski lodge.

Read this story of a day in the life of a firefighter, broken down into numbers.

The pictures speak of the hard work ahead for firefighters, and the devastation facing the area. Check sunvalley.plumtv.com for more info on the fires