Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team 3
Ops update Friday afternoon, Aug. 24, 2025
The Derby Fire grew in the late afternoon into the night on Saturday, August 23, on the southeast flank of the fire, as winds pushed the fire southeast. Secondary contingency lines are in place. Firefighters will be assessing the fire edge in that area and looking for opportunities to engage with handcrews, dozers, and aerial retardant drops. Thunderstorms moving through the area this afternoon could inhibit operations.
Firefighters are working on structure protection along Red Dirt Creek Road. Hotshots and handcrews are working to construct handline on the eastern side of the fire.
Firefighters have prepped more than 500 structures in the Sweetwater drainage corridor, with work continuing today. Hotshot crews have constructed direct fireline to the Hack Creek drainage on the southwest flank. They will continue to work along the southwest to west flank of the fire and will work north as terrain and weather conditions allow. On the southern side of the fire, burnout operations on Saturday August 23 were successful in removing unburned fuel from between the fire edge and the constructed fireline. If the weather allows, burnout operations will continue on that south edge. Burnout operations reduce the potential for fire spotting into unburned areas, and reduce the intensity of the fire along the fireline.