MCCALL, Idaho — Fire crews are continuing to battle a growing wildfire burning in the Payette National Forest about three miles southwest of Burgdorf.
The Nethker Fire was started by lightning about 2:20 p.m. Sunday afternoon and by Monday evening, had grown to 249 acres.
Ten air tankers, nine engines, six helicopters and eight crews are currently assigned to the fire.
“It took off pretty quickly and it quickly grew to 100 acres in a just a couple hours time frame," said Brian Harris, public affairs with the Payette National Forest. "A large column of smoke developed over the fire and we understood that we had a situation we needed to address quickly.”
According to Harris, the fire is burning about three miles from Burgdorf and is threatening homes and structures there.
While no evacuations had yet been ordered for Burgdorf residents, the Jeanette Campground and other campsites within the fire area are now closed.
“The values that are at risk are the private land that are in the Burgdorf area, Warren Wagon Road is kind of a corridor itself for recreation and people that live in Burgdorf and the little community of Warren as well, so it’s important to keep that road open,” he said.
Burgdorf-French Creek Road is another major road also used for transportation and recreation in the area. Both it and Warren Wagon Road are affected by the fire and Harris said the goal is to be able to keep those roads open.
“McCall is very much a recreation-based area so it’s kind of the livelihood of the economy here in McCall," Harris said. "To protect those values and keep that economy going in McCall is an important part for us.”
The popular Burgdorf Hot Springs announced Monday morning the resort will be closed "until further notice" due to the fire.
Harris said the Payette National Forest has had 25 fires so far in the 2019 fire season, but in terms of acreage, the Nethker Fire is the biggest to date.
The Payette National Forest averages 65 to 70 fires per season, but 99 percent of those don't get above two acres in size.
The last large fire in that area was the Mesa Fire in 2018, which started burning on private land but eventually spread to forest land and burned 34,000 acres in total.
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