Idaho Fire Update: Selway Wilderness, Crooked, and Upper Smith Fires Remain Active

Idaho continues to host multiple active large fires as the 2026 fire season enters mid-September, with seven fires listed in NIFC's daily situation report. While none of Idaho's currently active fires approach the scale of the now-contained Big Grass Fire — which burned nearly 580,000 acres across the Oregon-Idaho border — several incidents are actively managed and pose ongoing resource and safety challenges.

Selway Wilderness Fires — Clearwater National Forest

The Selway Wilderness Fires, burning within the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, have consumed 7,475 acres. As a designated wilderness area, management of these fires is guided by the principle of allowing fire to play its natural ecological role where possible, with suppression focused primarily on protecting wilderness values, adjacent private lands, and preventing escapes into higher-risk areas.

Wilderness fires managed for resource benefit — often called "point protection" or "monitor and manage" approaches — allow firefighters to focus scarce resources on fires with higher threat potential while permitting natural fire processes to continue in landscapes that evolved with fire over thousands of years. The rugged terrain of the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church wildernesses makes full suppression costly and often impractical in any case.

Crooked Fire — Boise National Forest

The Crooked Fire, located on or near the Boise National Forest, has burned 10,081 acres and is being actively managed. The Boise National Forest encompasses the rugged terrain of the South Fork of the Payette River drainage, a landscape of ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, and shrub-steppe that has seen significant fire activity over multiple decades. Active suppression is focused on protecting structures, recreation facilities, and road corridors.

Upper Smith Fire

The Upper Smith Fire, managed out of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests region, has burned 4,848 acres. The fire was reported to InciWeb with a recent update cycle, indicating continued active management. Details on containment percentage were not immediately available in the most recent update cycle.

Idaho's Role in the 2026 Season

Idaho has played an outsized role in the 2026 fire season, beginning with the catastrophic spread of the Big Grass Fire across Owyhee County starting in late July. That fire — now fully contained at 578,637 acres — drove Level 3 evacuation orders in Owyhee County and produced smoke that affected air quality across the entire Treasure Valley and beyond.

Idaho's seven currently active large fires represent the third-highest count nationally as of September 17, trailing only Washington (9) and Montana (9), and tied with Texas (7 fires in the southern Plains). The state's combination of wildland terrain — from the high desert of the Snake River Plain to the dense forests of the Clearwater and Panhandle — creates a complex fire environment that challenges managers throughout the season.

Resources and Coordination

Idaho fires are coordinated through the Southwest Interagency Coordination Center (SWCC) for fires in the southern part of the state, and the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center (NWCC) for northern Idaho fires. Both centers have been operating at high activity levels throughout 2026, managing resource orders, aviation support, and crew assignments across a landscape that has seen unprecedented fire activity.