BANKS, Idaho — The wildfire burning near Banks has been fully contained, but Highway 55 north of Banks is down to one lane, causing traffic delays.
The wildfire is the latest of several challenges that Bear River Rafting Company has had to deal with, ironically, one of those issues hasn't been water levels as good flows continue, and in most places around the West that is not the case.
WATCH|Check out the video to see the conditions on the Payette River
"All the guides try to keep it as upbeat and positive, like it’s rafting, let’s still have fun," said guide Nathan Schilly. "We have definitely seen business slow down a little bit, but we have still been able to go rafting."
The challenges started in June, when Bear Valley had some slow days because it was cold and rainy. Raft guide Leigh Langum also believes the state of the economy limited the number of travelers this summer.
"This season has been a little slower than last season, and gas prices seem to really be affecting guests wanting to go rafting," said Langum. "June was kind of cold, and then right before the 4th of July we had a week of rain."
When it did get hot in July, the raft companies had to deal with construction delays from the Fleming Bridge Project when traffic was down to one lane with flaggers.
It all came to a head on Thursday, July 30, when the contractor, trying to be proactive, closed a lane to do some work without telling the Idaho Transportation Department. The delays caught people off guard, and the shuttle on the Main Payette went from 15 minutes to two hours.
"We just have old buses, there is no air conditioning, and we had 38 people on the bus with us and five raft guides," said Langum, who told us at least they had ice-cold drinks from a cooler. "Traffic in July is the worst."
The Idaho Transportation Department finished the $6.5 million project this week, which is good news. The project took more than two years, but to be fair, it had minimal impacts except for this past spring and the last two weeks. I asked ITD why they had crews working during the busy tourism season.
"If we extended the contract out, it is going to increase the cost of the contract," said Jill Youmans of ITD. "We would like to just get it done. I know there will be a week or two of significant impact for all the drivers, but then we will be done."
Also this summer rafting companies had to deal with about two weeks of muddy water caused by landslides; the smoke in the Treasure Valley deterred people from coming out, and then this week a wildfire ignited near Banks.
Bear Valley Rafting had to cancel their trips on Thursday, and they had some customers cancel on Friday and this weekend. However, they continue to have a positive attitude, and they will take people down on several different trips on the Payette River.
"In the last two days the smoke has been really bad, but it cleared up last night with some rain, so super stoked on that to not be breathing in the smoke," said Schilly.
Friday actually had the least amount of smoke that I've seen for a long time, and I met a group who brought out their friends from New York to try rafting on the Main Payette.
"Oh my god, we had the best time, it was so fun. The smoke has cleared, and skies are beautiful," said the group. "The guide was so much fun; we felt safe the whole time, and he also had so much personality."
Bear Valley plans on rafting until September 7, so if you are looking for one more summer adventure, they provide a safe way to enjoy the river if you don't have a lot of experience. The same can also be said for Cascade Raft and Kayak and the Payette River Company.
