Evacuation order lifted after grass fire threatens Madison County homes
UPDATE 6:53 p.m.: REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) – The evacuation order has been lifted for homes threatened by a brush fire near Rexburg. The Beaver Dick Park fire broke out Tuesday afternoon in the desert near the neighborhood of Plano in Madison County, causing the evacuation of residents along 6000 W north of Idaho Highway 33.
Crews from Madison Fire, Jefferson Fire, BLM Fire, the U.S. Forest Service and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office worked to control the flames and notify people living nearby. An evacuation center was set up at the Plano LDS Church. The evacuation order was rescinded shortly before 6 p.m.
Cash Harris lives just about 200 yards from the fire. At the evacuation center, he told us, “It was really scary when we got the alert. I got up on the canal bank behind my house just to see flames coming up over the hill, probably half mile away, and then we evacuated.”
“They do these things for the safety of the people,” said Eric Blaszer, another fire evacuee. “We had to recognize that and do what they ask us to do… I believe that it’s good that we did it,”Blaszer said.
Evacuee Athena Cornelius told Local News 8 she was relieved once she got the OK to go home. “I'm thrilled because we have ice cream sitting on my table. That I had time to take out of the car, but not put away,” Cornelius said. “First time that I've got an evacuation notice, so it was a good experience in that it was short. And yeah, the people around here are awesome,” Harris said.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office also issued a statement on Facebook, that reads
“Sheriff Ball would like to thank all the agencies who responded so quickly to fight this fire. Also thank you to our local CERT team who responded to the evacuation location to assist all the people who were affected by the fire. Last but not least thank you to our community for their patience and cooperation, this makes the job of all the first responders so much easier and allows us to get the needed equipment into the areas where it is needed most as quickly as possible.”
UPDATE 6:00 p.m.: REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) - The Madison County Sheriff's Office has lifted the evacuation advisory.
REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) - Madison County Sheriff's Office said a wildfire is burning west of Rexburg north of Idaho Highway 33. The sheriff's office is asking residents north of the highway at 6000 W to evacuate.
The fire is near Beaver Dick Park and was moving quickly.
Residents are asked to evacuate to the Plano LDS Church at 5973 N 5000 W.
Madison Fire Department has called for reinforcements from Jefferson County, BLM, and the Forest Service.
This a breaking story and will be updated as new information comes in.
