South Fork Boise River

While wildfire in on the mind here’s an interesting map where we clipped the portion of the Boise National Forest showing the fire history of the South Fork of the Boise River.

Clipped from fire history map of the Boise National Forest 1908 - 2013

Downstream of Anderson Ranch Dam there was a fire on the north side of the River in 1948 but it appears the rock bluffs on the north side were a barrier in that portion downstream from about Reclamation Village to Granite Creek.

Further downstream on the north side there was a smaller fire in 1952 that appears to have affected the lower portion of the Pierce Creek watershed, including the Prairie Road switchbacks where it climbs from the canyon on its way to Prairie.  This 1952 fire appears to be on the south side of the South Fork Boise downstream of the Danskin Bridge and through much of the Mennecke Creek watershed.

On the south side of the River just downstream of the dam for a couple of miles appears to be outside any historic fire perimeter.  There does appear to be a section that burned in 1935, which may have burned again in 1942.  Adjacent to the west is a larger fire area that encompassed the Cow Creek drainage, and the lower portion of the Cow Creek road as it drops into the canyon appears to be a perimeter on the 1926 fire.

To the west is a fire from 1986 was that was probably a reburn of some of the 1926 fire area.

Underlying this area is the 1992 Foothills Fire, extending from the Cow Creek road and along the south side of the South Fork Boise through the meadow area and approaching the rick garden and Pine Tree Hole near Granite Creek.  So it encompasses much of Cayuse Creek, a small tributary on the south side.

This is the light green area sandwiched between the 1926 fire area to the east and the 1945 fire area to the west.  The 1945 fire appears to have been in Mennecke and Bock Creeks. By the 1970s both Mennecke and Bock Creeks were noted to be tributary spawning sites for the South Fork fishery.