Observation Fire Line to be Completed Friday, Containment Not Expected Till October

In many respects, the Observation Point Fire near Hamilton appears to be approaching extinction. According to fire information officer Mary Rasmussen, Firefighters hope to complete a line around the entire fire by Friday, July 8, and begin to wind things down.

"We're starting to what we call right-size," Rasmussen said. "That means some of our resources demobilized and that has are that has been starting today and that will continue throughout the weekend as we determine what resources we still need to keep what resources we can release"

However, the fire is still a long way from reaching 100 percent containment.

"Currently we're estimating containment on the fire at the beginning of October," Rasmussen said. "So we're hoping that with that line around the fire, that its not going to be growing any farther. However, just because of the nature the steep terrain and the fuels out there it could be smoldering throughout the summer."

According to Rasmussen, the difference between having a line around the fire and containment is that a contained portion of the fire will be cold and mopped up more than 100 feet into the fire’s territory.