Fire partially contained at Sand Creek Wildlife area
The prescribed burn that went out of control Thursday evening has now been partially contained.
The Department of Idaho Fish and Game says they had contracted with the Idaho Department of Correction St. Anthony Work Camp to conduct the controlled burn in the Sand Creek Wildlife Management area. While they were black lining the area for the fire it jumped the fire line and began to burn out of control uphill.
The fire was reported out of control at around 1:30 Thursday afternoon.
The BLM ordered campers in the area to evacuate for safety. No word on how many campers were in the area at the time.
Multiple fire agencies helped to put the fire out. The teams include the North and South Fremont Fire District teams and the BLM firefighting team. BLM has seven engines on site and one type two hand crew. That team was dispatched to the fire at about 2:30 p.m.
The IDFG says that there are no structures being threatened by the fire and no one has been hurt at this time.As of 9:00 a.m. Friday, the fire had covered 300 acres and was 60% contained. The fire is entirely on State of Idaho Land. If conditions remain constant, full containment is expected by 6:00 p.m.
Jessie Bender with the BLM says this fire is a good example of how high the fire danger is at the moment. They want to remind hunters and campers in the area to use extreme caution when lighting fires for personal use.
