Why is it getting so hot? Plus, a few notes on fire prevention and safety

 

Hi all - We all know it's getting hot ... really HOT for June in SW Idaho, and it's going to get even hotter next week ... up to 107 by next week. 

What the heck is going on? It's already been a dry spring ... the last thing we need is a major heat wave before July, when you know it's going to be hot in the low-elevation valleys of Idaho! 

I checked with the National Weather Service experts in Boise. A High Pressure system camped off the Pacific Coast, plus a Low Pressure system off the tip of the Alleutian Islands, are creating a dynamic where the jet stream is moving way north into Canada, and hot air from the Desert Southwest to moving north into the Pacific Northwest, where it may break all temperature records next week! 

In short, we're getting the weather that Vegas and Phoenix typically get. 

The model run pictured above shows the extreme heat in orange and reddish-orange, and you can see how the heat blob is centered right over Idaho ... Damn! This system may persist beyond next week ... so make plans accordingly!

Please be careful during the heat wave, stay hydrated and find places to keep cool however you can! If you go outside, be sure to wear a hat, sun screen, etc., bring plenty of water, and set up a sun shade to stay out of the direct sun.

Here are a couple of my recent beat-the-heat posts that might be helpful: 

• 10 perfect paddling destinations in SW Idaho for SUPs and kayaks
• Here comes the Heat: 5 primo places in SW to take your SUP (or kayak)   

Topic #2 this week: Remember the old Smokey the Bear saying, "Only you can prevent forest fires" ? 

Well, this year, that saying is especially true. 

It's already a given that we're in for a long, hot summer. We're in it now! 

But perhaps you didn't know that 80% of all the wildfires we have in Idaho each year are caused by humans. Some of them turn into mega fires ... like the guy who was shooting at exploding targets and started the Sharps Fire over by Bellevue a couple of years ago, which burned more than 65,000 acres ... or the guy who was setting off fireworks by Table Rock and started a fire over there. And on and on. 

So just a wee bit of advice, if you need to have a campfire, be sure to put it DEAD OUT before you go to bed. And definitely before you leave the campsite. Last year, Boise National Forest fire prevention control employees found nearly 400 campfires that had been left burning after they left. 

Here are some pics that the Boise National Forest shared with a social media post about campfires left burning. Be sure to fully extinguish your campfires when you're out camping ... and if it's hot, maybe skip building the fire altogether! 

And remember, no fireworks are allowed on Forest Service or BLM lands. 

Let's be smart and do what we can to prevent wildfires in Idaho. We've all been through smoke-filled summers, and it's no fun at all! Plus, the damage to property and natural resources is something that we must avoid!

For more information about fire prevention and fire safety, go here. 

- SS

Some useful resources for navigating fires and smoke in SW Idaho and Central Idaho

Courtesy NASA (taken on Aug. 18)

Hi all,

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's run into road closures and maddening situations in the last several weeks as we try to travel to the mountains, musical events, campgrounds, etc.

The big whopper I endured recently was when a new fire cropped up near Banner Summit and the Forest Service closed Idaho 21 late in the afternoon on Thursday, Aug. 9. There was virtually no forewarning that there might be any road closures in that area, and suddenly, boom. So much for making it to the Braun Brothers Reunion concert that night. I drove over 10 hours that day and never made it to Challis before collapsing near midnight at the Mt. Borah Earthquake interpretive area.

I felt humbled when I read a story about some very unhappy boy scouts who had driven to the Cape Horn area to camp at the boy scout camp near Beaver Creek, only to discover that the Halstead Forest Fire had shut down that road and camping area, and the boys had to drive home. Wow! That made my trip seem like a jaunt to the corner quick stop.

Planning a recreation outing in Central Idaho these days can be quite challenging because we have a trio of  large fires in Central Idaho that are are burning out of control with no containment in sight. The prevailing winds generally blow west-to-east, and so they are pushing smoke from the 98,000-acre Trinity Ridge fire into the Sawtooths and Stanley areas, and of course all of the recreation areas near Pine and Featherville and the Trinities are off-limits. And then you have the Halstead Fire burning north of Idaho 21 and Idaho 75, making much of that area inaccessible, and the smoke from the Halstead fire is pushing into Challis and Salmon.

It's hard to figure out where to go, but here are a few trip-planning tools that will be helpful:

• Great forest and range fire web site with the latest information: http://inciweb.org/. Scroll down to the name of the fire, click on the link, and you'll get the latest information. 
• Best road closure site: ITD 511  http://hb.511.idaho.gov/main.jsf
• Smoke web site: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/usa/20120820-idaho.html
• Forest Service maps and satellite images: http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/imagery.php?op=fire&fireID=id-mt-000
• The National Weather Service forecasts also have information about wind and smoke. 

As I mentioned in last week's blog, McCall and Cascade are good bets close to home, although it was quite smoky and hazy in McCall when I was there earlier this week. Eastern Oregon also could be a good place to go -- the Wallowas and Eagle Cap Wilderness are beautiful locations. Natalie Bartley wrote a piece about scenic drives in the Wallowas in today's Statesman.

The west side of the Payette National Forest north of Weiser has some good camping areas and mountain bike trails. My book Mountain Biking Idaho has a cool advanced ride called the "Parlor of Pain," (named by locals), which is 19.5 miles. You go up the Mann Creek Road, north of Weiser, and start the ride at the junction with Hitt Creek Road #573. Climb that road for a ways and then veer right on a singletrack, climb the Parlor of Pain section, and then cruise by Hitt Peak and Sturgill Peak, before flying down the Mann Creek Road #009 back to the start.

New singletrack on the Payette Rim Trail

If you do go to McCall, I recommend riding the Payette Rim Trail, which is featured in my book, Mountain Biking in McCall. The Rim trail is a longtime favorite ride in the McCall area, but logging two years ago really tore up the trail. Locals have since re-routed a singletrack trail around the logging impacts, and it takes you all the way down to the corrals by Bear Basin, creating the possibility of riding the rim trail and then making a loop around the Bear Basin Trails to add another 5+ miles to the ride. Thanks to McCall mountain bikers for the awesome re-route!

Another option this weekend is to float rivers. Tons of people have been floating Cabarton on the North Fork of the Payette River, not to mention the South Fork Payette, and the South Fork Boise is still running at summer flows. The Riggins day trip on the Salmon River is another option. The Upper Salmon near Stanley is closed to private boaters but 4 outfitters are running trips there daily.

Canoeists might want to try Elk Creek or Bear Valley Creek and camp nearby. The Landmark area and Deadwood Reservoir should be fine as well.

At least it's going to be cooler this weekend! I'm looking forward to that.

Have fun and good luck escaping the smoke! Tell me what you find!
--SS