Michaud Creek Fire jumps to 1,000 acres in size, fire officials say
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ARBON VALLEY — A wildfire burning on a portion of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Power County has grown to roughly 1,000 acres, fire officials said Saturday afternoon.
The update was reported by the National Interagency Fire Center about 2 p.m.
Dubbed the Michaud Creek Fire, the blaze is located along the south side of Interstate 86, about 10 miles west of Pocatello.
It was first reported just after noon on Friday and declared “contained” by 1:43 p.m. that same day by the Fort Hall Fire Department. Later that afternoon, the NIFC reported it had burned 64.92 acres.
However, fire somehow reignited about 11 a.m. Saturday, according to Sho-Ban News. “It has burned past the powerplant and was headed east. Currently the fire is in the Simplot area. There are no structures endangered,” the news outlet said in a Facebook post.
By 1 p.m., the NIFC had updated the fire’s size to 500 acres. An hour later, the Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center reported it had reached 1,000 acres.
The original fire was believed to be human-caused, according to the fire center website. But information on what prompted its reignition on Saturday was not immediately available.
Fire crews from Fort Hall Fire and North Bannock Fire were working together to gain control of the wildfire on Saturday. The Pocatello Fire Department said on social media that it has also sent in two “brush trucks” to aid in the effort.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information is available.
PHOTO GALLERY
The Michaud Creek Fire burns on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, south of Interstate 86 and about 10 miles west of Pocatello, on Saturday. | Kyle Riley, EastIdahoNews.com
