Wildfires force residents to leave homes near Salmon

SALMON, Idaho (KIFI) - The Woodtick Fire burning the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is now forcing those near it to evacuate.

The fire is burning approximately 30 miles by air north of Challis and 6 miles northwest of Meyers Cove.

The Lemhi County Sheriff's office reports those living in the Lower Camas Creek are in the 'Go' stage to evacuate. Those in the Silver Creek, Castle Creek and Camas Creek areas are in the "Set" stage to evacuate, meaning they should prepare for the possibility of evacuation.

The fire, which started on July 14th by lightning, has burned 1,672 acres. Most of those acres were burned on Sunday.

Residents near the Moose Fire north of Salmon are still evacuated. Evacuations are in place for residents on the west side of Highway 93 between Tower Creek to North Fork. Those between North Fork to Hughes Creek are in the "Set" stage, according to the Lemhi County Sheriff's office website.

Fire crews will continue to conduct Point Protection along the Highway 93 corridor, they said. The fire is spreading down to the river in the vicinity of Bobcat Gulch and farther south to Napoleon Gulch. A storm passing through yesterday caused the fire to increase.

As of Monday morning, the fire has burned 35,739 acres and is 7 percent contained.

Fire managers say the fire is the number one priority in the country right now for airtanker support. "If necessary, airtankers will be used to assist ground-based firefighters in curbing the spread of the fire in critical areas that contain high values at risk," they reported in their daily update.  

Air quality in Lemhi County remains in the 'Moderate' category as of 11:30 a.m. on July 25, according to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. You can learn about the air quality index at https://www.deq.idaho.gov/air-quality/air-quality-index/.