Porcupine Fire Active 2026
Porcupine Fire has burned 108 acres, burning 7 miles north of Clark Fork.
Latest update
The Porcupine Fire was discovered on the evening of July 24th and is believed to be a holdover fire from a previous lightning storm. It is burning in steep terrain with cliffs, rock screes, and subalpine fir, located approximately two miles east of Porcupine Lake. People who live and recreate in the area should remain aware of this incident and the potential for changing conditions. Firefighting personnel will be using Porcupine Lake Trail #642 to access the fire area. Lake Pend Oreille and Porcupine Lake will act as a dip site for air resources. Exercise caution and yield to firefighting aircraft.
The first shift saw initial attack firefighters inserted into the area by helicopter. It took crews almost two days to saw in an access route through heavy brush, and dead and down timber. With support from scoopers and helicopters, firefighters were able to directly engage the fire. Firefighters constructed handline around most of the fire, but they were unable to "anchor" at the base of the fire because of its location on a cliff. Due to terrain, issues with escape routes, and no feasible safety zones or medevac sites, further direct effort proved unsuccessful and unsafe. The handline held the fire at 3.5 acres until a wind event and rollouts on the cliff face resulted in further fire spread. The current suppression strategy is to confine the fire to an area that limits the threat to values at risk, including a communication site, recreation infrastructure, and of course nearby communities and private property.