Hunting Season Begins But Badger Fire Closures Remain
Hunting season has begun for some tags and are about to start for others. The Badger Fire is in Unit 54 and is burning thousands of acres of land. Closures remain in effect and those closures still apply to hunters.
The Sawtooth National Forest shared on their Facebook page that closures are being reassessed but as of right now the closures will be implemented until October 30th or until they declare so otherwise.
All roads and trails within the burn area are obviously closed. People are not allowed to pass through the burn line. The Diamondfield Jack campground area including the parking lot and all roads around it are closed off. Rock Creek Road, FS road 500 are both closed. You can see a full map with an outline of the burn area here.
For those who are hunting just make sure that you stay safe when you go into Unit 54. Harrington Fork and Third Fork Campgrounds are open but the trails are closed. Remember if you are afraid that it will be impossible to fulfill your tag or you don't want to go into Unit 54 due to the Badger Fire you can always rain check your tag or exchange it for an open tag.
Also a reminder that the area is also off limits to drones. It is not only unsafe for your drone to fly over the area but it can cause major issues with aircrafts fighting the fire so just don't do it.
Good luck hunters, and stay safe.