This past summer’s Rock Wildfire impacted multiple counties across parts of Idaho and Montana. According to IQAir, which monitors real-time air quality conditions across the world, the blaze had burned more than 2,000 acres, and at one point, was dangerously close to buildings at Idaho’s Tamarack Ski Resort.
The fire began less than two miles from the resort with a lightning strike in mid-August and rapidly scorched more than 1,000 acres, forcing the resort to temporarily shut down its summer operations. With a new winter season on the horizon though, management at Tamarack has decided to turn the disaster into an opportunity. Approximately 50 to 60 acres of land impacted by the fire at Tamarack are being turned into new skiing terrain.
According to local KIVI News, more than 200 loads of dead timber will be cleared out of the burn zone in the next three weeks alone. The stumps of trees burned in the fire will be cut down to just six inches above ground level once all that is cleared. Plans are for the new slopes to be open by opening day of this season, which is set for November 28, 2025.
“This is what a lightning strike looks like at the end of the aftermath,” Scott Turlington, President of Tamarack told KIVI while walking the grounds of the new terrain. “We [will] have groomers through here, a lot of powder, skiers enjoying this opportunity and taking advantage of the new terrain, the beautiful vistas you get from this pitch.”
The resort currently has 56 named runs across 2,000 acres of skiable terrain, according to its website, but the report from KIVI didn’t specify how many will be added with the clearing from the fire. The area records an average of 300 inches of snow each winter. Tamarack Ski Resort sits at a summit elevation of 7,700 feet, with 2,800 feet of vertical drop.
You can watch the full video, here.
