Four more alleged arson cases in Timmerman Hills
"Had the recent fires been set earlier this summer, before
moisture and cooler temperatures moved in this fall, they may have grown out of
control."
Monte White, BLM law enforcement officer
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Four allegedly arson-caused fires sprung up in the Timmerman Hills on
Thursday, consuming approximately seven acres of grass and sagebrush before they were
contained later that day.
The BLM, Sawtooth National Forest and Wood River Fire and Rescue responded
to the blazes with two helicopters, an airplane and multiple engines, according to a BLM
press release.
The four fires were set within two minutes of each other inside of an
eight-mile radius, near Picabo Desert Road, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) law
enforcement officer Monte White said in a telephone interview Monday. White is heading up
investigation efforts in conjunction with the Blaine County Sheriff..
White said an apparent incendiary device was found at the scene of the
first fire, which burned just off of Picabo Desert Road.
The device "appears to be, probably, a cigarette wrapped into
matches," he said.
"I collected it at the scene, and I’ll have to have a lab look
at it," White said. "It was burned so bad. I only suspect that is what it is.
I’m not sure."
No devices were found at the sites of the three other fires, he said.
White said someone called the BLM’s dispatch center and reported that
several "kids" were seen at each fire site before the fires started. According
to White, the caller reported that the kids were driving a red Toyota sedan. It’s a
lead White hasn’t investigated thoroughly yet, he said.
The latest round of Timmerman area fires continues a trend that began in
August. Andy Payne, fire manager for the BLM’s Shoshone District, said about five
fires occurred north of Magic Reservoir in August. He said incendiary devices were found
at two of those, and the BLM is continuing to investigate them as arson cases. Another
arson-suspected fire burned about 900 acres near Timmerman junction on Aug. 22.
White said all the arson-suspected fires may be related.
"We’re always suspicious of that, but we’re not sure they
are," he said.
Had the recent fires been set earlier this summer, before moisture and
cooler temperatures moved in this fall, they may have grown out of control, he said.
"They would have been catastrophic fires," White said.
"They would have been very large."
White said catching the arsonists could prove difficult.
"We’ve got to have somebody see the right things at the right
times," he said, "and everything will fall together. We’ll have to get
lucky, though."
