Elkhorn and Hayden wildfires have burned nearly 50,000 acres to date

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Wildfires continue to burn across the state as wildland firefighters work to get ahead of the blazes.

According to the latest update from the Payette National Forest officials, the Elkhorn Fire burning in the mountains near McCall continues to burn and has scorched an estimated 24,025 acres since the fire began on July 24th. According to the Idaho Department of Lands, cooler weather and rain showers helped to slow the spread of the fire the last couple of days.

Crews expect that fire activity will continue in the areas that fire personnel cannot get in to along the salmon river corridor. But the incident command team is anticipating minimal growth. River rafters are allowed to launch in the area but are prohibited from stopping in areas where the fire is active and jet boats are in operation to assist in fire suppression efforts.

Meanwhile, the Hayden Fire, burning in the Salmon Challis National Forest near Leadore has burned 24,489 acres, this according to a release issued Saturday from the incident management team. Fire crews continue to work on their containment lines and are nearly 77 percent complete. There has been decreased fire activity reported in the area and some of the aviation resources have been released to assist in other wildfires. Saturday the area received nearly a half an inch of rain which helped moderate the fire behavior. Stage one fire restrictions are still in effect for the Salmon Challis National Forest and Idaho Department of Lands.

Visit Inciweb for information on wildfires at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov

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