IDAHO, USA — When Paula Wolfson signed up to raft the Main Salmon River for her 70th birthday, she never expected wildfire would consume 48 hours of her trip.
"It was a beautiful day," she said, "and then as we moved further down the river everything changed ... and we were just in a fire."
Wolfson booked the trip through Middle Fork River Expeditions. Owner James Ellsworth started running the Salmon River more than 20 years ago.
Ellsworth said they always talk to the forest service before leaving and were aware of the Elkhorn Fire. But at the time, the fire was only about 2,000 acres.
"We heard there wasn't a major fire," he said, "and that there was smoke but that [it] wasn't going to impact our trip very much."
But the fire grew 20,000 acres on July 30th, the second day of their trip. The forest service called it a "firestorm."
While at a camp on day 2, Ellsworth said the fire just kept burning closer and closer.
"As we're seeing the huge fire bursts of probably 40/50 feet tall, we then see it jump across the river," he said. "At this point, I had discussed this enough, and I just said we're packing up and leaving."
Ellsworth said the water was the safest option. Hot and blustering winds were also a problem, making some of the rapids more difficult to run than usual.
Wolfson called the guides "heroes" and said they were all very focused on keeping everyone safe.
"It was intense and scary because of smoke inhalation and then the possibility of anything coming down the debris and puncturing a raft and or being in our path," she said.
Altogether, Ellsworth said the fire impacted about 48 hours of the trip.
"Our group, they were troopers," he said. "I think for a lot of people it was just a big wake-up call for the impermanence and also the preciousness of life."
When the worst of the fire was behind the group, Wolfson said they celebrated. The rest of the trip went by fire-free.
Days later and safe in her home in California, Wolfson said she is still processing all that happened on the trip.
"I would definitely come back," she said. "But I might just do day trips. I might not put myself out there for 12 days at a time."
Ellsworth said outfitters always have to deal with wildfire and are constantly assessing the situation while on and off the river.
Because wildfire is part of recreating in Idaho's backcountry during the summer, the river is always changing. He said nature has a way of regrowing, which makes room for something new.
"It's exciting to be an outfitter in Idaho because things are always so dynamic," Ellsworth said. "And then at times, that dynamic environment gets super pumped and super charged through a bit of chaos in terms of the fire, and also the rain combination."
Regardless, Ellsworth said he does not want to go through a fire like the Elkhorn fire again. Right now, there are no closures along the Salmon River. The fire has burned about 24,000 acres and is 12% contained.
While fire information officer Brian Harris said outfitters regularly talk to the forest service about fire danger, everyone thinking about a river trip should know what could happen.
Harris said they are still investigating how the fire started. It has also burned buildings at two ranches.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.