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Salmon idaho fire

23K views 146 replies 43 participants last post by  Idahomountainmissy 
#1 ·
Fire just popped up around moose creek 5 miles west of north fork. Sounds like river road could be closing. 30 acres first report.
 

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#5 ·
Salmon river rd is closed. Burning on both sides 300 acres.

From forest service

Moose (July 17): The fire is located approximately five (5) miles southwest of the North Fork in the vicinity of Moose Creek and Deadwater on the North Fork Ranger District. The fire is estimated at 300 acres burning in grass, brush, and timber. Fire is burning on both sides of the Salmon River Road (#030). Due to current activity, the Salmon River Road is closed from North Fork to Indianola. Please avoid the area and give responders room to work. Three (3) crews, four (4) helicopters are on scene with additional resources on order. Cause is unknown. The Forest will share more information on the Moose Fire as it becomes available.

📸Moose Fire from east of Salmon- Highway 28; July 17, 2022
 
#6 ·
Update from from forest service. If opting to get to corn creek over Williams creek summit know it will probably take around 3.5 to 4 hours. Do not take napias creek off the back side to panther. Take deep creek. Road is in pretty good shape until you get lower on panther creek. It gets a little narrow. Make sure your shuttle company is on boars.


Due to current and expected fire activity on the Moose Fire, Fire Managers on the Salmon-Challis National Forest are asking the public to avoid these areas:

*Granite Mountain Road (#092)
*Hughes Creek Road (#091)
*Hull Creek Road (#005)
*Indian Creek Road (#036)
*Sage Creek Road (#005)
*Salmon River Road (#030) from North Fork to the junction with Panther Creek Road (#055)
*The area to the East of Colson Creek Road (#123). The Colson Creek Road is ok to travel as authorized.
*The area to the East of the Panther Creek Road. The Panther Creek Road is ok to travel
*The area to the North of the Napias Creek Road (#076). The Napias Creek Road is ok to travel
*The Stormy Peak Road (#023) from the Forest Boundary to 5 Corners

Alternate route to downriver from the Panther Creek/Salmon River Road junction:
*From the South – Morgan Creek Road to Panther Creek Road to Salmon River Road and then west down river.
*From the North – Williams Creek Road to Panther Creek Road to Salmon River Road and then west down river.
Expect heavy mine traffic on these routes.

Risk to responders and public safety are the top priorities for the Moose Fire. Fire managers appreciate your cooperation.

📸Moose Fire from the south 7/17/22
 
#7 ·
Thanks for posting this info. Will be curious to hear how things go in the next few days... seems like something that can change fast.

Anybody know, if you're coming from the South (Challis or Stanley) and want to get in Panther Creek to the river road, is is it actually better to get on Morgan Creek near Challis and take that all the way to Panther like the FS is saying, or to go N almost to Salmon and get on the Williams/Deep Creek roads to Panther?

I can see that the FS is saying traffic from the south should take Morgan, but that seems like a lot of dirt road miles that you could cut off if you went Williams/Deep... but I've never been on it so what do I know?
 
#18 ·
Thanks for posting this info. Will be curious to hear how things go in the next few days... seems like something that can change fast.

Anybody know, if you're coming from the South (Challis or Stanley) and want to get in Panther Creek to the river road, is is it actually better to get on Morgan Creek near Challis and take that all the way to Panther like the FS is saying, or to go N almost to Salmon and get on the Williams/Deep Creek roads to Panther?

I can see that the FS is saying traffic from the south should take Morgan, but that seems like a lot of dirt road miles that you could cut off if you went Williams/Deep... but I've never been on it so what do I know?
Look what happened in Boundary last year!!! It has been extremely windy since this morning and that fire is in some pretty steep stuff.
 
#20 ·
From the USFS Middle Fork page.

  • There is wildfire activity on both sides of the Salmon River Road (NFSR #030) between Highway 93 at North Fork and Indianola Guard Station that is affecting access from the Middle Fork of the Salmon River take-out (Cache Bar Boat Ramp) to Hwy 93. At this time, a pilot car is escorting vehicles through this area on the Salmon River Road in the morning hours and when fire behavior allows. It is unlikely that the pilot car option will be available in the afternoons. For current updates, call 208-756-5587. When the pilot car is not available, use the following directions.
    Access from Cache Bar Boat Ramp to Hwy 93, five miles south of Salmon:
    From Cache Bar, head east on Salmon River Road (NFSR #030) for approximately 14 miles.
    Turn right on Panther Creek Road (NFSR #055).
    Continue on Panther Creek Road for approximately 20 miles.
    Turn left onto Deep Creek Road (NFSR #101).
    Continue on Deep Creek Road for approximately 11 miles (up switchbacks).
    At intersection with NFSR #021, turn right towards Williams Creek Summit.
    Continue approximately 3 miles to Williams Creek Summit.
    Drive over the summit and stay on NFSR #021 (Williams Creek Road) for approximately 13 miles downhill to Hwy 93.
From the Main Salmon page.

  • There is wildfire activity on both sides of the Salmon River Road (NFSR #030) between Highway 93 at North Fork and Indianola Guard Station that is affecting river access to the Main Salmon River launch site (Corn Creek Boat Ramp) . At this time, a pilot car is escorting vehicles through this area on the Salmon River Road in the morning hours and when fire behavior allows. It is unlikely that the pilot car option will be available in the afternoons. For current updates, call 208-756-5587. When the pilot car is not available, use the following directions for access to Corn Creek Boat Ramp.
    Access to Corn Creek Boat Ramp from Salmon:
    From the intersection of Hwy 93 and Main Street in Salmon, drive south on Hwy 93 for approximately 5 miles to the intersection with Williams Creek Road.
    Turn right (head West) on Williams Creek Road (NFSR #021) for approximately 13 miles to Williams Creek Summit.
    Stay on NFSR #021, drive over Williams Creek Summit, and continue for approximately 3 miles.
    Turn left onto Deep Creek Road (NFSR #101).
    Continue on Deep Creek Road for approximately 11 miles (down switchbacks) to Panther Creek Road (NFSR #055).
    At intersection, turn right on Panther Creek Road (NFSR #055).
    Continue on Panther Creek Road for approximately 20 miles to Salmon River Road (NFSR #030).
    Turn left onto Salmon River Road and continue to Corn Creek Boat Ramp.
 
#21 ·
From the USFS Middle Fork page.

  • There is wildfire activity on both sides of the Salmon River Road (NFSR #030) between Highway 93 at North Fork and Indianola Guard Station that is affecting access from the Middle Fork of the Salmon River take-out (Cache Bar Boat Ramp) to Hwy 93. At this time, a pilot car is escorting vehicles through this area on the Salmon River Road in the morning hours and when fire behavior allows. It is unlikely that the pilot car option will be available in the afternoons. For current updates, call 208-756-5587. When the pilot car is not available, use the following directions.
    Access from Cache Bar Boat Ramp to Hwy 93, five miles south of Salmon:
    From Cache Bar, head east on Salmon River Road (NFSR #030) for approximately 14 miles.
    Turn right on Panther Creek Road (NFSR #055).
    Continue on Panther Creek Road for approximately 20 miles.
    Turn left onto Deep Creek Road (NFSR #101).
    Continue on Deep Creek Road for approximately 11 miles (up switchbacks).
    At intersection with NFSR #021, turn right towards Williams Creek Summit.
    Continue approximately 3 miles to Williams Creek Summit.
    Drive over the summit and stay on NFSR #021 (Williams Creek Road) for approximately 13 miles downhill to Hwy 93.
From the Main Salmon page.

  • There is wildfire activity on both sides of the Salmon River Road (NFSR #030) between Highway 93 at North Fork and Indianola Guard Station that is affecting river access to the Main Salmon River launch site (Corn Creek Boat Ramp) . At this time, a pilot car is escorting vehicles through this area on the Salmon River Road in the morning hours and when fire behavior allows. It is unlikely that the pilot car option will be available in the afternoons. For current updates, call 208-756-5587. When the pilot car is not available, use the following directions for access to Corn Creek Boat Ramp.
    Access to Corn Creek Boat Ramp from Salmon:
    From the intersection of Hwy 93 and Main Street in Salmon, drive south on Hwy 93 for approximately 5 miles to the intersection with Williams Creek Road.
    Turn right (head West) on Williams Creek Road (NFSR #021) for approximately 13 miles to Williams Creek Summit.
    Stay on NFSR #021, drive over Williams Creek Summit, and continue for approximately 3 miles.
    Turn left onto Deep Creek Road (NFSR #101).
    Continue on Deep Creek Road for approximately 11 miles (down switchbacks) to Panther Creek Road (NFSR #055).
    At intersection, turn right on Panther Creek Road (NFSR #055).
    Continue on Panther Creek Road for approximately 20 miles to Salmon River Road (NFSR #030).
    Turn left onto Salmon River Road and continue to Corn Creek Boat Ramp.
There has been huge winds since this morning and now the cumulous clouds are building. I have seen there are more evacuations towards Hughes Creek and north. Wouldn't count on the pilot cars this afternoon!
 
#26 ·
Cache Bar to Salmon Detour. I just mapped this looking at topo maps in QGIS from of office chair here in Denver Colorado, so it could be wrong, but it is a geo referenced pdf that you can open in Avenza Maps to help navigate.

Hope it helps and that everyone stays safe.

Yes this is the correct route. Take deep creek off the backside of williams summit, not moccasin to napias.
 
#34 ·
I would watch very closely the fire situation. If you are putting in at Boundary and expect to take out at Cache Bar? Hour by hour is all I can say. Went through the same thing last year when Boundary was closed down to launching because of the fire. I believe the permits from last year were honored but now this fire may shut down launching at Boundary if shuttling at Cache Bar is not open. Check with the Forest Service and your permit provider.
 
#28 ·
That's more than a week away.
Consult your crystal ball, or magic 8ball.

The Moose fire may be out by then, 4 more fires could pop up.
Summer in the West= smoke.
Live with it, or turn your permit in and stay home.
Oh, and get a better filter for your HVAC system, because otherwise, the air indoors isn't any better (and possibly worse) than the air outdoors
 
#29 · (Edited)
I'll take a stab at this one.
1. The fire started way to the East (about 20 miles) of the put in at Corn Creek.
2. For now according to reports the fire is heading East. Subject to change by Mother Nature.
3. Prevailing winds are "normally from the West (up river).
4. Pilot vehicles still appear to be guiding folks up/down the river road to the put in/take out. (a good sign but subject to change).
5. As stated by Ben, you're a quite a way from your launch date and thus impossible to predict accurately.
6. This is one time where folks would wish to have an up river breeze/wind.
7. Consult fire maps and incident links for fire updates.



8. This situation seems to be the norm now so roll with it.
9. Bring N95 masks just in case, fire smoke particulates are small and nasty.
10. Have fun.
 
#31 ·
with how the weather tracks and around here i would be willing to bet the current air quality is better at corn creek then in bozeman or other places that it's blowing to way away. The wind always blows up canyon, anyone that has still been on the river after 3pm knows this. I dont imagine it would be bad for more than a day and even then only the first half of the day when the inversion is set in, but weather can do strange stuff. I smell the smoke and it reminds me of almost every main salmon trip I have ever been on.
 
#32 ·
They are still doing pilot car for rafters. Car starts at 6:30am, I would try and be headed down in the morning, as fire activity picks up in the afternoons you run the possibility of it getting shut down.

Moose Fire Update - 7/21/2022
The Moose Fire was very active yesterday, with uphill runs, short crown runs, and short-range spotting and similar behavior is expected today. The potential remains for the fire to reach the Highway 93 corridor and private landowners and forest users need to remain aware of this potential fire activity. Additionally, the fire continues to grow to the west along the south side Salmon River, beyond East Boulder Creek. The terrain and topography in this area along the Salmon River is very steep and rugged and fire growth is fueled by terrain driven winds and large burning debris roll-out.
The fire remains active on both sides of the Salmon River Road (NFSR #030) between Highway 93 at North Fork and Indianola Guard Station. This is affecting access to the Middle Fork of the Salmon River take-out (Cache Bar Boat Ramp) and Main Salmon River launch site (Corn Creek Boat Ramp) to Hwy 93. A pilot car is currently escorting vehicles through this area on the Salmon River Road; access through the corridor via escort generally begins at 6:30 AM and continues through the afternoon or until fire conditions prevent travel through the area. For current River Access updates, call 208-756-5587. Questions on river launches can be answered by emailing middlefork@fs.fed.us.
Yesterday, firefighters made good progress north of the Salmon River. Burn out operations were completed near Ulysses Mountain and crews secured and improved the line through evening operations. Further east near Whiskey Springs and Deadwater Gulch, crews mopped-up and secured fireline from previous days burn out operations. Along the Salmon River Road and the Highway 93 corridor structure and infrastructure protection improvements continued in anticipation that the fire could move further east and impact these areas. Helicopters were used to support ground firefighting resources with water bucket drops and will be used again today as weather and smoke conditions permit. Aviation resources are also being used to search for any additional spot fires east of the fire’s perimeter and along Highway 93 with anticipated increase in fire activity this afternoon.
 
#33 ·
Curious if/how soon the FS will evaluate 30 after the fire either passes through or is hopefully extinguished. Was a fire that burnt through a huge area of medicine bow natl forest in SE Wyoming in the summer a few years back and FS didn’t even look at many of the roads until after the next spring’s snowmelt had passed. Have an August 9 launch on the main and don’t want to get unrealistic hopes that 30 will be open even if the fire has moved through or been put out.
 
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