Wood River Fire and Rescue fought three fires along state Highway 75 north of Hailey last week. Two brush fires on Saturday were likely human-caused, and a third earlier in the week destroyed a Ford pickup.
The two fires on Saturday occurred within minutes of each other shortly after 3 p.m.
One blaze near the highway intersection with Ohio Gulch Road burned about a quarter acre of brush along the east side of the road before it was extinguished. The other fire, some three miles north of Hailey, consumed a strip of brush along the east side of the road some 200 feet long by 15 feet wide.
Fire Chief Bart Lassman said both fires were likely caused by passing vehicles, but he was unable to find evidence at either fire scene to determine what actually started the blazes.
While the two fires caused no damage, Lassman said they were both dangerous to firefighters because of heavy traffic.
"I was actually at both of them to do some traffic control," Lassman said. "There was just a lot of traffic on Saturday."
Earlier in the week, a 1988 Ford F150 pickup was destroyed by fire late Tuesday night near the highway intersection with Spruce Way.
"The truck was fully engulfed when we arrived," said Wood River Lt. Ron Taylor.
Firefighters were called to the scene of the mishap at about 11:15 p.m. Fire retardant foam was used to extinguish the blaze.
The driver of the vehicle escaped uninjured. His name was not available.
According to Taylor, the driver of the vehicle was heading south on the highway when he noticed flames, "so he stopped and got away from it."
Taylor said a ruptured fuel line likely caused the blaze.
