Firefighters on Aug. 14 took advantage of improved weather to gain ground on Idaho forest fires in the Stanley and Garden Valley areas.

“Weather is greatly in our favor,” said Sarah Shapiro, a public information officer for the Middle Fork Complex and the Bulltrout and Wapiti fires. “Fire activity is low,” improving access for crews and equipment.

The Middle Fork Complex, nine miles east of Garden Valley, comprises the Bulldog and Nellie fires. Bulldog is 2,585 acres, Nellie 5,116. Neither had containment early Aug. 14, according to a news release from fire managers. Impacts from the previous morning’s showers persisted.

The 271-acre Bulltrout Fire 15 miles west-northwest of Stanley was 92% contained. The 3,104-acre Wapiti Fire two miles southwest of Grandjean had no containment.

Fire lines have been holding on the Bulldog Fire’s southwest corner, closest to the community of Crouch, and “we hope we can call that portion of the fire perimeter contained within the next few days,” Shapiro said.

A Wapiti Fire team on Aug. 14 completed a sizable burn toward protection lines and worked to extend lines to the west, she said.

The Wapiti Fire is actively burning in rugged, high-elevation terrain, primarily driven by winds on ridges in exposed areas, according to the release. Firefighters are improving the water pumping system that provides sprinklers to nearby communities.

The Nellie Fire is burning in steep, remote terrain and is backing into the 2016 Pioneer Fire area. Crews seek natural barriers to use and continue to protect lookouts and a communication tower. Forest Service Road 555 is closed from Highway 17 to Forest Road 579.

Crews continue suppression-related repairs in the Bulltrout Fire area. The fire is smoldering and creeping through unburned areas in the fire’s interior, according to the release. Crews are extinguishing interior hot spots on the south side.

Much of the Bulltrout fire is in a beetle-kill area, with stump holes and falling snags that can be hazardous and can delay full containment, Shapiro said. The Boise National Forest issued an area closure.

In the Middle Fork Complex area, the Boise County Sheriff’s Office maintained a Level 2 (get set) evacuation notice for residents on or near Middlefork Road between Stump Ranch Road and Tie Creek Campground.

Evacuation orders remained in effect for Sawtooth Lodge and several summer home areas due to the Wapiti Fire. Boise and Sawtooth national forests enacted closures earlier.