Fort Hall fire scorches 9,600 acres, remains out of control
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FORT HALL — Firefighters won their battle against the wildfire burning near Grace Sunday but lost ground to the blaze raging on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation.
Both fires started Saturday and grew to a combined 1,700 acres by late Saturday night.
The fire north of Grace was contained by 2 p.m. Sunday after scorching 200 acres and the flames were expected to be extinguished by Sunday night.
The fire on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, however, grew from 1,500 acres on Saturday night to 9,600 acres by Sunday evening and fire officials said the blaze remains out of control.
Fire officials said the wildfire massively spread Sunday because of thunderstorm activity and high winds at the fire scene in the mountainous Ross Fork area of the reservation about seven miles east of the Fort Hall town site.
Authorities said Saturday that the fire had not caused any evacuations or injuries and we received no reports of either on Sunday.
We also received no reports that any structures were threatened by the flames Saturday or Sunday. Fire officials reported that the blaze is burning in “sagebrush, grass and some juniper.”
On Saturday authorities said the nearest houses to the fire were a half-mile away.
Fire officials said 12 fire trucks, five bulldozers, two helicopters and about 150 firefighters were fighting the fire on Sunday. More fire crews and equipment are expected to be deployed to fight the fire on Monday.
The fire ignited around 4:30 p.m. Saturday due to lightning strikes in the Ross Fork area east of Interstate 15. Rain from a thunderstorm followed and fire officials thought the fire was out, but then strong winds struck and the fire rekindled and began to spread rapidly around 7 p.m. Saturday.
Fire officials do not yet have a cause for the fire that started around 5:15 p.m. Saturday in a field along Highway 34 north of Grace.
That blaze was beaten with the help of several firefighting aircraft, including a massive DC-10 tanker jet.
The fire initially spread rapidly near the Caribou County Landfill north of Grace and the flames immediately threatened nearby structures.
The fire nearly jumped Highway 34 but firefighters kept it east of the highway and south of Highway 30.
We have not received any reports that the flames resulted in any injuries, evacuations or damage to structures.
The fact a large wildfire near Preston has been extinguished freed up the firefighting resources necessary to battle the fires north of Grace and on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation.
The Rocky Peak fire north of Preston scorched over 900 acres, but did not result in any injuries, evacuations or damage to structures.
The Rocky Peak fire started Wednesday evening and the Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center reported Saturday afternoon that the blaze was out and there were no longer any fire crews on the scene. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Stay with idahostatejournal.com for the latest wildfire updates.
This article was originally published in the Idaho State Journal. It is used here with permission.