For the week of August 21 - 27, 2002

Firefighters gain control over brush fire

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By GREG MOORE
Express Staff Writer

A brush fire that burned about 1,500 acres east of Hailey above Woodside in the Cherry Creek area was expected to be contained by Tuesday evening.

"It’s looking really good," said Cherry Creek Incident Information Officer Tina Boehle on Tuesday afternoon. "It’s cooling down and becoming less complex."

One of three aircraft used against the Cherry Creek Fire that started Sunday evening east of Hailey drops a load of fire retardant Monday. Express photo by Willy Cook

Investigators have determined that the fire was started by a juvenile playing with matches on Sunday at about 7:30 p.m. It burned uphill, away from structures in Woodside.

The fire was initially attacked by firefighters from Wood River Fire and Rescue and the Hailey Fire Department. Additional resources from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service, beginning with eight smokejumpers, were called in when the fire spread beyond their control.

Those resources grew to include 210 firefighters, 20 engines, two helicopters, three planes, four bulldozers and two water tenders.

An interagency Type 2 Incident Management Team, based in Boise, arrived Monday night to manage the effort. The team included personnel from Boise, McCall and Twin Falls, as well as Montana, Boehle said. She said the team was scheduled to turn management back over to the BLM today.

A BLM press release stated that suppression efforts were slowed by the steep, 45-degree slope and uneven terrain.

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In another fire that occurred last week, investigators have determined that a three-acre brush fire in Slaughterhouse Canyon east of Bellevue was human caused, but have not determined how.

Wood River Fire and Rescue Capt. Terry Thompson said the fire began near a road on private land about one mile east of Bellevue on Aug. 14 at about 2:50 a.m. She said it appeared to have been set at two points.

About 50 firefighters responded from Wood River Fire and Rescue, the Bellevue and Hailey fire departments and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Thompson said the fire was declared totally out by about 9:45 a.m.

 

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