Wildfire forces closure of Idaho Highway 21 stretch. Here’s what route to take instead

Officials announced the closure of a 15-mile stretch of Idaho Highway 21 on Tuesday morning.

The Idaho Transportation Department closed all lanes of Idaho 21 near Grandjean, between milepost 92 by the Warm Springs Airport to milepost 107 by Banner Creek Summit, according to the department’s website. No reopening time has been set.

There is no longer public access to the Grandjean area and residents have been evacuated, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Drivers can still reach Lowman businesses.

The transportation department said drivers should detour through Ketchum along Idaho Highway 75.

The Wapiti Fire was only 10% contained and had burned 9,049 acres as of Tuesday.

“The Wapiti Fire had active fire behavior with group torching, long range spotting, and terrain driven runs,” the Boise National Forest Service said in a news release Tuesday. “… An additional structure was lost due to showering embers in the Wapiti Summer Homes area. Fire is expected to continue to spread downhill and along the ridge lines to the west and north.”

The Idaho Transportation Department advised those planning to drive near wildfire areas to treat nonworking traffic signals as four-way stops, bring additional food and water in case of delays, turn on headlights in smoky areas and go slow while maintaining a steady speed.

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