Desert fire west of Rexburg brings evacuations

A large desert fire began burning west of 6000 W in Madison County Tuesday around 3 p.m. near Rexburg.

All residents in the area of 6000 W to 4000 N were asked to evacuate to a local church building in Plano. First responders from the Madison Fire Department, Jefferson Fire Department, the Bureau of Land Management Fire Department and Madison County Sheriff's Office have aided in putting out the fire and evacuating locals.

Around 5:30 p.m. an update was made via social media by the sheriff's department stating that the evacuation order was lifted.

Sheriff Ron Ball made a statement via social media expressing thanks for the help of multiple agencies in responding to the fire quickly, including the local CERT team that aided individuals affected.

"Last but not least thank you to our community for their patience and cooperation," Ball said. "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."

Officials from the city of Rexburg also took to social media to address the fire.

"Now is probably a good time to water the lawn if you haven't recently," the statement said.