The Butts Fire has so far burned only about a quarter of an acre on a ridge between the two forks of Butts Creek, two miles southwest of Salmon River Lodge and the Corn Creek boat launch site.

The lightning-caused fire was reported on Friday, July 23 and is still burning slowly in steep, rugged terrain in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, said Kent Fuellenbach, public affairs officer for the Salmon-Challis National Forest.

North Fork District Ranger Russ Bacon and fire managers completed a fire risk assessment over the weekend and concluded it has the potential to threaten structures downriver at Salmon River Lodge, Butts Point Lookout and Stub Creek Lodge if high down-canyon winds start to blow. They also determined the fire was too dangerous to attack directly, given the steep, rugged terrain, Fuellenbach told The Challis Messenger.

“The fire is in an area that was burned in 2000 and there are many standing snags that make for very hazardous conditions for firefighters,” Bacon said in a news release.

“It’s really steep, rocky terrain,” said Fuellenbach, “and not worth risking firefighters’ lives over.”

So, the 25-member crew assigned to the fire is doing fuel reduction near the structures, preparing for the worst-case scenario of high winds.

“We are keeping a close eye on the fire,” Bacon said. “If this fire starts to move we want to be ready well in advance.

“We are focusing our attention on the specific points we want to protect rather than expose our firefighters to unnecessary risk on steep, rocky terrain and numerous snags,” Bacon said. “This strategy should allow us to be successful in meeting our objectives while minimizing the risk to our firefighters.”

The Forest Service’s objectives are to minimize impacts to the public and outfitters using the river corridor and trails in the area, to reduce the risk of the fire spreading to structures, plus safety for the public and firefighters.

This was the first fire of the 2010 season deemed significant enough for a news release, Fuellenbach said. Most of the others have been even smaller fires – single-tree lightning strikes that firefighters have soon controlled and extinguished.