BOISE, Idaho — A wildfire is burning in high, steep mountainous terrain in the Salmon National Forest about 20 miles west of Salmon, Idaho.
Forest Service officials say the Fritzer Fire was sparked by lightning on Tuesday. As of Saturday morning, the fire is burning 137 acres and is 20% contained.
It is being fueled by grass and timber, mostly Ponderosa Pine, and is burning the fire scar of the 2000 Clear Creek Fire.
The fire is burning in inaccessible terrain. Resources on scene include three helicopters and two hotshot crews. Crews are working on suppression efforts while the helicopters continue to perform water drops.
Incident commanders reported good progress while crews are anticipating some challenges with the forecasted hot and dry weather.
"Our intent is to keep this fire as small as possible while helping to ensure firefighter and public safety", said Heath Perrine, Challis-Yankee Fork District Ranger.
"We are anticipating a very challenging fire season and this is just the start," said Ken Gebhardt, North Fork District Ranger.
A total of 54 fire personnel have been assigned to the Fritzer Fire.
The weather forecast is calling for showers and thunderstorms in the area through Friday, followed by several days of extreme heat. A mix of wet and dry storms is forecast with gusts over 40 mph still possible.
Because of the conditions, the fire is expected to grow with anticipated winds and predicted thunderstorms.
Strong high pressure arrives by early next week, setting things up for several days of likely record-breaking heat and low humidity. With this prolonged period of heat is it will be harder and harder to cool off overnight, and this will also mean several days of poor humidity recovery.
Currently, there are no closures in place associated with this fire.
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