Pilot car will lead travelers through wildfire-caused road closure Idaho 21 near Stanley
A wildfire burning in the Sawtooth National Forest has forced a highway closure on Idaho 21, according to U.S. Forest Service officials.
In a Sawtooth National Forest news release Tuesday, officials said the Trap Fire was burning 9 miles west-northwest of Stanley. The road is closed between Grandjean Road and Cape Horn Road (mile markers 93.7 to 119), according to the Idaho 511 traffic map, but officials said Wednesday that a pilot car will lead travelers through the area between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily.
In a Facebook post, neighboring Salmon-Challis National Forest said the fire emergency is “evolving rapidly” after the fire was first reported near the Trap Creek Campground on Monday. The cause of the fire has not been determined, but officials said it is burning on both sides of the road in timber. It had burned about 350 acres (roughly half a square mile) by late Wednesday morning.
The fire, which is burning near the confluence of the Boise, Sawtooth and Salmon-Challis national forests, is one of a handful currently burning in Idaho. Officials have not released any estimates on when it might be contained.
The closure has blocked the main access to the Boundary Creek raft launch on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. Salmon-Challis National Forest Officials said the site may still be accessible via alternative routes and urged those with scheduled launches to email mfchecker143@gmail.com or call (208)-481-2625.
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 3:47 PM.
