Menaced by wildfires, this Idaho resort just closed temporarily. Guests are headed home

A popular resort near McCall has closed because of nearby wildfires.

Tamarack Resort, alongside Lake Cascade, announced Tuesday afternoon that it would close temporarily as it hovered just out of range of an evacuation order. The entire resort — which includes vacation rentals, golf and a summer concert series — has closed, and guests are being sent home.

“Our team is now working with guests and homeowners on preparations for a safe departure from the resort,” a news release said. Coordinating with firefighters, “Tamarack’s operations team has been creating defensible space around our resort boundaries, cutting dozer lines, and readying our snowmaking system should its water be needed,” the release added.

The resort plans to remain closed until authorities clear the area of an imminent wildfire threat.

Central Idaho has been hit with a barrage of wildfires this summer, which have closed lodges, threatened town residents and inundated much of the state with hazardous levels of smoke.

Tamarack faces fire threats mainly from two blazes to the south: the 70,000-acre Lava Fire and the 7,900-acre Boulder Fire.