Idaho fires

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Rotnguns

Rotnguns

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Apr 11, 2020
Messages
146
Location
Southwest Idaho
I had actually looked into going to the Frank Church for deer this fall just to do it, but the area I wanted to head into is still burning. Sadly. Was hoping the weather we had last weekend would've helped, but a little to late I guess.
We need a steady rain or snow event to stop the fires now. I just looked on Onx and it's terrible what's happening to our beautiful state. My brother is coming up this fall to hunt birds and I've reduced our hunting options to Caribou-Targhee, the Owyhees and the Cuddy Mountain area, but now I see a fire burning along Hell's Canyon so chukars could be a wash unless the Owyhees come through. Hope we get a good snow or rain in the next week or two.
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2022
Messages
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I’m not even sure where I can hunt safely if this continues as there seems to be fires popping up all around where I was looking at. The dry thunderstorms yesterday didn’t help at all.
 

Ross

Super Moderator
Staff member
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Feb 24, 2012
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4,766
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Liberty Lake, WA
Idaho fires and heavy smoke is nothing new and something you have to grind through often in September. In the 70s when I visited I remember our logger family talking about hoot owl and they shut the mountains down in the early afternoon. As to elk they adapt so much easier than us, as they have to. This bull was living on the right side of this fire and screaming away when I called him in. The pack out we were avoiding down trees and snapping embers from the ground. This second bull lived all September in a newly burned area with 35 cows and that September there were double digit fires across the river you can see the remaining plumes in October. I always hated chasing bulls in that heavy smoke but have some great memories. My brother was like a speed goat in it and would be smiling as I coughed away🤣
 

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Joined
Sep 13, 2016
Messages
2,333
Location
Idaho
I’m not even sure where I can hunt safely if this continues as there seems to be fires popping up all around where I was looking at. The dry thunderstorms yesterday didn’t help at all.
The NWS reported 5k cloud to ground strikes yesterday in Eastern Oregon and SW Idaho.
 
Joined
Sep 13, 2016
Messages
2,333
Location
Idaho
Idaho fires and heavy smoke is nothing new and something you have to grind through often in September. In the 70s when I visited I remember our logger family talking about hoot owl and they shut the mountains down in the early afternoon. As to elk they adapt so much easier than us, as they have to. This bull was living on the right side of this fire and screaming away when I called him in. The pack out we were avoiding down trees and snapping embers from the ground. This second bull lived all September in a newly burned area with 35 cows and that September there were double digit fires across the river you can see the remaining plumes in October. I always hated chasing bulls in that heavy smoke but have some great memories. My brother was like a speed goat in it and would be smiling as I coughed away🤣
I think more than anything, it's the hard closures that the FS has in place. The amount of ground they have closed down in the Sawtooth zone is huge.
 

TaperPin

WKR
Joined
Jul 12, 2023
Messages
2,828
Fire smoke still smells like money. Plenty of energetic young fire fighters are having the highpoint of their summer, daydreaming about new rifles, scopes and spotters - maybe even a new pack if the fire money holds up.
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2022
Messages
28
Fire smoke still smells like money. Plenty of energetic young fire fighters are having the highpoint of their summer, daydreaming about new rifles, scopes and spotters - maybe even a new pack if the fire money holds up.
Yeah but they will all be working these fires throughout all of hunting season.

The private contractors on those fires can easily buy all of what you said with a small part of one of their checks. If I chose to work the fire season on the line this year it would have been more like payoff the rest of the mortgage or buy a new truck in cash money.
 
Joined
Sep 28, 2018
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VA
Good heavens - we just had some intense wind blow through Ada County earlier this evening. No rain. Sadly, probably going to make the fire situation even worse than it is.

I wonder if that caused all the fires in the South portion of McCall to suddenly push a bunch of hotspots. I noticed on OnX there are a ton of new hotspots that weren't there last week
 
Joined
Sep 13, 2016
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Idaho
I wonder if that caused all the fires in the South portion of McCall to suddenly push a bunch of hotspots. I noticed on OnX there are a ton of new hotspots that weren't there last week
It certainly didn't help. That Boulder fire really blew up on Saturday and Sunday.
 

ODB

WKR
Joined
Mar 24, 2016
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3,923
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N.F.D.
Definitely was big. Last trip thru a lot of mulies where feeding right off the interstate because everything else was burnt. I probably should of called Oregon department of transportation because of all the traffic on 84. Hopefully somebody did. Seen a few big dead bucks near Huntington


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yup. We saw a lot of carcasses.
 
Joined
Apr 4, 2017
Messages
1,046
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north idaho
Fire smoke still smells like money. Plenty of energetic young fire fighters are having the highpoint of their summer, daydreaming about new rifles, scopes and spotters - maybe even a new pack if the fire money holds up.
Hence why a fire can be out for days, but not reported out. No wonder the cost of fire is so huge.
 

IDVortex

WKR
Joined
Jan 16, 2024
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1,151
Location
CDA Idaho
Been still wanting to go south for deer, but watching this fire season keep getting worse is making my decision to stay north. Sadly.
 
Joined
Sep 28, 2018
Messages
2,061
Location
VA
We need a steady rain or snow event to stop the fires now. I just looked on Onx and it's terrible what's happening to our beautiful state. My brother is coming up this fall to hunt birds and I've reduced our hunting options to Caribou-Targhee, the Owyhees and the Cuddy Mountain area, but now I see a fire burning along Hell's Canyon so chukars could be a wash unless the Owyhees come through. Hope we get a good snow or rain in the next week or two.

Looks like that fire is 95% contained.... whatever that means
 

mtnwrunner

Super Moderator
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Shoot2HuntU
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Messages
4,041
Location
Lowman, Idaho
Wapiti is 0 percent contained. It will burn until moisture puts it out. And that looks like it's gonna be awhile.

Randy
 
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