Firefighters make quick work of brush fire in Pocatello neighborhood before it could damage any homes

POCATELLO — A quick response by Pocatello firefighters kept a brush fire from damaging any homes in an east side neighborhood.

The fire ignited between two houses on Northstar Drive near Monte Vista Drive around 2:15 p.m. Friday.

The blaze was reported by a homeowner on Northstar who was using his garden hose to try to stop the spread of the flames when firefighters arrived.

Firefighters made quick work of the fire, extinguishing the flames in less than 10 minutes.

There were no injuries, no evacuations and no damage to any of the homes in the neighborhood.

But firefighters said things could have been different if the fire was not spotted early on by the resident and if they had not responded so quickly to the blaze.

The Pocatello Fire Department is urging local residents to be super careful and diligent right now because the abundance of dry vegetation in the Pocatello area has greatly increased the wildfire risk.

Conditions are so dry that it won't take much for a fire to ignite and spread quickly.

The National Weather Service reports that incoming thunderstorms on Monday afternoon and Monday night will make the wildfire threat even more severe. As a result all of East Idaho and most of the rest of the state are under a fire weather watch on Monday.

"New lightning is possible, with gusty outflow winds possibly leading to rapid growth of new or existing fires," the weather service stated.

The cause of the brush fire on Northstar is still under investigation.

The Pocatello Fire Department was fortunately able to contain the blaze to less than an acre of scorched earth between the two homes.

Firefighters hope that with the help of local residents their good luck will continue until the wildfire season comes to a close sometime this fall.