Wildfire season has arrived in Idaho’s forests. Is anything burning near Boise?
Three large wildfires are burning in Idaho as the state barrels into a hot, dry summer, including the Moose Fire in the Salmon-Challis National Forest, which had grown to 35,739 acres as of Monday morning.
The fire, which began in Lemhi County on July 17, is only 7% contained, according to a Monday news release from the Moose Fire team. The cause remains undetermined, and 789 personnel, 23 hand crews, 35 engines and three helicopters have been dedicated to the blaze.
Its expected containment date is not till Aug. 30, according to InciWeb, which is run by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.
The Moose Fire is the largest fire in Idaho. The Woodtick Fire (1,673 acres) and the Wolf Fang Fire (751 acres) also are burning across remote land in the Salmon-Challis National Forest, according to InciWeb. The Woodtick Fire began on July 14 and the Wolf Fang Fire the day before that. Both fires were caused by lightning and are 0% contained, according to InciWeb.
Their projected containment dates are July 31 for Wolf Fang and Sept. 1 for Woodtick.
Salmon-Challis National Forest at high risk for wildfires
This region of Central Idaho near Salmon is experiencing “very high fire danger” and has seen 16 reported blazes this year, Salmon-Challis National Forest spokesperson Amy Baumer said in a Monday news release.
The release asked visitors to be aware of the fire risk and not to leave campfires unless they are “dead out.” The U.S. Forest Service, Idaho Department of Lands and Bureau of Land Management will begin Stage 1 fire restrictions on Tuesday. These prohibit most campfires and smoking outdoors.
Restrictions have been placed on roads, trails and other areas in the Salmon-Challis National Forest in response to the Woodtick Fire, the release said.
Idaho escaped what could have been a disastrous wildfire season last year amid a drought. About 1,200 fires burned roughly 429,000 acres — 170,000 acres less than the average acreage burned yearly in the past decade, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting. Idaho’s biggest incident was the Snake River Complex of fires south of Lewiston, which burned almost 110,000 acres.
The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise reported that 58,733 wildfires burned more than 7.13 million acres in the U.S. in 2021. California was once again the hardest-hit state, with 8,619 wildfires scorching nearly 2.6 million acres.
