McCall Idaho Headline News

Closures remained in effect for whitewater rafters this week on the main Salmon River and Middle Fork of the Salmon due to wildfires blazing along the rivers.

The main Salmon River was closed from Corn Creek to Vinegar Creek earlier this month due to the Rattlesnake and Raines fires raging along the river.

The Middle Fork was closed two weeks ago from Boundary Creek to Camas Creek due to the Red Bluff and Monumental fires that were burning on both sides of the river. River access from Boundary Creek, Loon Creek, Thomas Creek and Indian Creek launch sites was also suspended due to public safety concerns.

Up-to-date river closure information is available at (208) 879-4112 or rafters can e-mail middleforkriverinfo@yahoo.com.

In spite of the closures, business is still good for commercial rafting outfits in the Riggins area.

Exodus Wilderness Adventures in Riggins will continue its rafting operation through the end of September, president Amy Sinclair said. After September, the business will focus on steelhead fishing trips primarily.

The Salmon River was flowing at 3,030 cubic feet per second as of Monday. The water temperature was at 66 degrees in the morning and 70 degrees in the afternoon.

"We've had lots of large groups going out on the weekends," said Deb Adair, business manager of The Salmon River Experience in Riggins.

"There's quite a lot of boat traffic on the weekends, but during the week it slacks off." Adair said.
The flow from Deadwood Reservoir will likely be shut off Saturday, said Tren Long, owner of Cascade Raft & Kayak in Horseshoe Bend.

Deadwood Reservoir feeds the Middle Fork of the Payette River, which drains into the South Fork of the Payette River.

The business is only taking South Fork reservations through Saturday, though the river will still have enough flow for kayakers.

The water cutoff will lower the flow in the Main Payette River by about 800 cfs, Long said.

However, rafting operations will continue on the North Fork of the Payette and the Main Payette River beyond the Labor Day weekend.

The Main Payette was flowing at 3,148 cfs as of Tuesday morning. The North Fork of the Payette River in the Cabarton stretch was flowing at 1,715 cfs.

The South Fork of the Payette River was flowing at 264 cfs in GrandJean,1,352 cfs in the canyon and Swirly Canyon and 1,433 cfs in the lower section.