POCATELLO — Firefighters fully contained a large wildfire Saturday night that had burned hundreds of acres west of Pocatello, causing widespread evacuations and temporarily shutting down Interstate 86.
It's believed the blaze was caused by lightning around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. The flames quickly spread due to the strong winds blowing through the area.
Authorities said firefighters fully contained the blaze around 10 p.m. Saturday and all evacuees have been allowed to return to their homes.
The fire ignited south of Pocatello Regional Airport and scorched about 650 acres of land on the Fort Hall Reservation, authorities said. Smoke from the blaze could be seen from several miles away.
Firefighters are feeling pretty good about their efforts to extinguish the wildfire because not a single home or other structure was damaged by the flames and as of Saturday night there were no injuries.
About 50 homes west of Pocatello were evacuated because of the fire.
In addition to saving those homes from the blaze, firefighters kept an Idaho Power substation from being damaged by the wildfire.
The emergency response to the fire was massive with fire departments from several local counties along with Fort Hall Reservation, Bureau of Land Management and Idaho National Laboratory firefighters converging on the scene to battle the blaze.
Bannock County Search and Rescue, local sheriff's deputies, Pocatello police and Idaho State Police also responded to help with road closures and evacuations.
Around 6:50 p.m. Saturday tanker planes began flying sorties against the blaze, dropping retardant to slow its spread.
But firefighters said the real turning point came before the aircraft arrived. They said "luck" and the fact the powerful gusts that fueled the flames eventually subsided enabled them to make gains against the wildfire and keep it from damaging anyone's home.
The fire did cause the temporary closure of Interstate 86 and the flames briefly jumped the freeway. But firefighters were able to push the fire back so that the freeway could be reopened.
Multiple rural roads west of Pocatello were temporarily shut down because of the fire and the public is still being strongly encouraged to stay away from the area while firefighters douse the remaining hot spots.
Firefighters are expected to remain on the scene through Monday afternoon making sure all of the flames have been extinguished.
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