Naturally we've been talking amongst ourselves a lot recently about fires, the history, fire suppression techniques, forest management techniques, etc. I've learned a lot this summer from attending the briefings conducted by the Thompson-Divide Complex Incident Commander and his team.
The historical fire that everything in this area is compared to is the 1910 fire in and around Wallace, Idaho. Huge destruction and loss of life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_1910
There's talk that this year's fire season will rival it.
In any case, what I'm picking up on in the briefings is that fire-fighting priorities are set by the "values at risk," aka "values." Values at risk are expensive things and/or people that are in the path of the fire. The Sheep Fire is such a high priority because it threatens the BNSF main line, US Highway 2 (when it is closed, vehicles longer than 21' have to make a 330-mile detour), a major natural gas pipeline, and the community of Essex. In other words, we humans have built a lot of expensive structures in places that are difficult to defend against forest fires.
It seems to me sort of like the situation with hurricanes. High winds and huge waves aren't a problem unless they are washing over a lot of houses and commercial buildings.
It has been an interesting season, and will continue to be so for a few more weeks, until that "season-ending event" occurs. As far as the locals are concerned, the sooner the better. Bring on the winter!
Hikers are going to have a tough time finishing the CDT NOBO this year. It's essentially shut from the Bob north, except for a few miles just south of the border.