Wildfire damages home in Pocatello

POCATELLO — A brush fire broke out on North Ridgewood Road in Pocatello on Friday.

Firefighters arrived at the blaze at around 5:45 p.m. and found the fire covered about two acres of brush and was threatening nearby homes, Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen told KPVI.

“As you can see the thickness of the brush here especially those junipers, they kind of explode when they catch on fire. And it got real close, real real close, as you saw how close that came to the home,” Nielsen said.

The home that was most threatened by the fire was unoccupied at the time as the owners were not home and the fire melted some of the siding on the house.

They have been made aware of the situation, and neighboring homes were evacuated.

At around 7:45 p.m. Friday the fire was contained and the residents were told they could enter their homes again.

“We consider it a very successful event if nobody gets hurt, and no structures get destroyed,” said Nielsen.

The fire was in Chubbuck’s district, and Nielsen says their chief declared the fire a gateway interagency fire, calling for all fire services north of Inkom in Bannock County to assist with the fire.

And Sheriff Nielsen says had this agreement not been in place, it would be a different story.

“We’re very, very lucky. I think the response was phenomenal, I think the fact that we all cooperate also helps,” said Nielsen.

This article was originally published by KPVI. It is used here with permission.