Even as fall hunting seasons approach, the Pioneer Fire continues to burn in Hunt Unit 39, in the Idaho City/Lowman area. Predicting the impacts of this growing fire on upcoming hunting opportunities remains a difficult prospect.
For example, about a week ago, on July 30, the fire was estimated to be about 19,000 acres in size. As of today, the Pioneer Fire has grown to over 63,000 acres with only 25 percent containment.
As it has grown, the fire has spread into the southern portions of Hunt Units 33 and 35 (near Lowman) and the extreme north central portion of Hunt Unit 39, north and east of Idaho City. The good news is that the burned portion of Hunt Unit 39 represents only about four percent of the unit’s total area of 1,564,160 acres.
If the fire continues to burn into the fall hunting season, it’s likely that area closures will continue when hunting seasons roll around. The good news tied to possible area closures is that big game hunters have options.
Mule deer hunters holding a general deer tag can hunt in other open general hunt areas, including the majority of unit 39. If you are the holder of a controlled mule deer tag, you have the option of switching that tag for a general over-the-counter-hunt before your controlled mule deer hunt starts or hunting another portion of unit 39. This same strategy applies to holders of a controlled elk tag; this tag can be exchanged for a general over-the-counter-zone tag as long as the exchange is made prior to the hunt start date of the controlled hunt. And remember that a large portion of fine elk habitat in Hunt Unit 39 remains un-impacted by this year’s fire activity.
Holders of a Sawtooth Zone elk tag or general deer hunters planning a trip to Hunt Unit 33 or 35 have similar options, including hunting in most of these two units, un-impacted by the Pioneer Fire.
As the fire season continues, here are a number of resources available on line to track fire progress and get up-to-date information on road and area closures, evacuation notices, fire maps and other information.
Area closure information, news releases and fire maps can be found at this web address: www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/boise/alerts-notices.
Additional fire information specific to the Pioneer Fire is available on the Incident Information System at: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4866.
For Facebook users, find Pioneer Fire information at www.facebook.com/Pioneer-Fire-682201165260518/
- IDFG -