Single Publication

The Elkhorn Fire on the Salmon River corridor has become extremely active and is expanding in size daily.  As of today, July 31, 2023, there is no launching on the Permitted Salmon River Wilderness section from Corn Creek to Vinegar Creek through Wednesday, August 2, 2023.

The Salmon-Challis National Forest who administers the river permit system is offering boaters affected by this closure a rollover option for next season on the same launch date.  In order to allow people time to plan and prepare for their Salmon River trip, given the uncertainty of when the fire activity will allow for boaters to use the Permitted Salmon River in the near future, the Forest Service is offering rollovers to those with trips planned within five days of a closure date.

We will continue to assess the fire activity and will allow boaters to launch as soon as possible.

• For Rollover information and other river information call the Salmon – Challis National Forest River Clerk at 208-756-5587 or 208-481-2625.

The triggers that move us to closing the river corridor are centered around safety to the rafters and the firefighters, and the significance of fire behavior in the immediate area. In our efforts to fight this fire, a large amount of time and resources are consumed in managing the rafters to quickly get through the fire area. Closing the river temporarily allows us to focus on the fire effort. 

Regarding the opening of the river, there is not really any good intel we can offer - we do all we can to open the river as quickly as possible with the focus on safety for all. Fire efforts along the main Salmon River have always presented a challenge to firefighters as weather conditions are very unpredictable and often change with very little warning.  This everchanging weather cycle added to the dry fuels/vegetation in the area and steep terrain results in wildfire that tends to grow significantly and present safety issues for all.