The Wild River Fire continues to smolder across 821 acres of the White Mountain National Forest, but is now more 53% contained and not expected to spread.
Persistent drought and the accumulation of kindling on the ground, though, are likely to provide continued fuel for the fire until a heavy rain or snowfall reaches the area.
“So we can anticipate that this is going to continue to smolder, probably until winter conditions come,” Michael Matson, New Hampshire’s chief of forest protection, told the Executive Council on Tuesday. “Just the way it is.”
The Wild River Fire has been burning since Nov. 1 in a remote, rugged stretch of the national forest about 7 miles southeast of Gorham, near the New Hampshire-Maine border.
The U.S. Forest Service said this is the largest wildfire in the White Mountains National Forest since 1918.
The Forest Service said the fire is human-caused, and currently under investigation.
According to Matson, there are no residential homes within 1.5 miles of the burned area.
On Tuesday, officials with the Forest Service said during a public meeting in nearby Shelburne that leaf blowers were a useful tool for clearing leaves and brush for containment lines, helping limit the spread.
Firefighters are largely performing “mop up” on hotspots they can access, and working to form a contiguous containment line by clearing brush.
Scattered showers in recent days have helped weaken the fire, and winds under 10 miles per hour are also helping slow its spread.
The section of affected forest remains closed to visitors, including Wild River Road and a number of hiking trails.
On Tuesday, Forest Service officials announced that funding had been secured through the Federal Transportation Administration to begin repair of Wild River Road, including three bridges that were already damaged by flooding in 2023.
People are asked to not use drones near the fire, as they pose a risk to helicopters and the Forest Service’s own drones, which are being used for surveillance of the blaze.
