Idaho wildfire near Redfish Lake was human-caused, fire officials determine

Two weeks after a wildfire ignited near a beloved Idaho recreation area, threatening campsites and a historic lodge, fire officials publicly acknowledged that the blaze was human-caused.

The Bench Lake Fire, which had grown to 2,500 acres and was 58% contained on Friday, started on July 11 near the namesake string of lakes about a mile from the west shoreline of Redfish Lake in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

A Friday update on InciWeb, a government website tracking wildfires, for the first time listed the fire as “human-caused” instead of under investigation. The Idaho Statesman has reached out to fire officials for more information on the cause.

Fire crews aggressively attacked the backcountry blaze from the outset, navigating rugged terrain and closing the recreation complex nearby. The closure was still in place Friday, though an announcement on the Redfish Lake Lodge website said guests with reservations could visit beginning Sunday. The area will open to campers with reservations on July 29 and to the public on July 30, the Sawtooth National Forest said in a Facebook post.

About 340 personnel were still working on the fire, InciWeb data showed. Resources included a dozen engines and nine helicopters. According to Friday’s update, cooler weather and rain in recent days helped crews further control fire lines.

Fire officials said crews were working to repair trails around two of the Bench Lakes, as well as repairing terrain where fire crews dug lines to contain the flames.

Lightning sparked several other wildfires across the state in the last several days. The Durkee Fire, which is burning on the Oregon side of the Idaho-Oregon state line near Weiser, is the largest in the U.S. at around 270,000 acres. It was started by lightning on July 17.