Firefighters with help from aircraft save Pocatello homes from wildfire

POCATELLO — Firefighters with help from aircraft gained the upper hand on a fast-moving wildfire in south Pocatello on Friday before it could damage any homes.

The fire was reported by a local resident around 1:45 p.m. Friday after igniting in the hilly terrain between Katsilometes and Piedmont roads off South Fifth Avenue.

Firefighters from the Pocatello and Pocatello Valley fire departments and Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs and U.S. Forest Service along with Bannock County sheriff’s deputies rushed to the scene but the flames quickly spread to within 50 yards of nearby homes.

One home was evacuated as a precaution as windy conditions at the scene along with the dry vegetation fueled the fire’s growth.

Around 3 p.m. Friday firefighting planes and helicopters began dropping retardant and water on the fire to keep it away from homes in the area.

Firefighters then began to slow the fire’s spread and the BLM said it was expected that the blaze would be fully contained by late Friday night.

As of early Friday evening, the fire had scorched over 30 acres of private land and Katsilometes and Piedmont roads remained closed, but the situation had stabilized to the point that the residents who had been evacuated from their home earlier were allowed to return, authorities said.

The fire did not result in any injuries and no homes or other structures suffered damage.

The fire is under investigation by the BLM and there’s been no speculation about what might have caused it.

The blaze is the second wildfire in the Pocatello area this week, with the first being a Sunday night fire on public land in the Trail Creek area that might have been caused by fireworks.

That fire did not result in any injuries, evacuations or damage to structures but did take firefighters from multiple agencies until Monday night to extinguish.

The BLM said there have been multiple human-caused wildfires in East Idaho this week, raising fears about what could happen next week with all of the July 4 fireworks festivities.

The BLM is urging people this summer to “Create Memories Not Disasters” in hopes that precautions will be taken to prevent wildfires like the ones already occurring across the region.

Not shooting off fireworks on public lands and always keeping a bucket of water and shovel at the ready while recreating outdoors are good places to start, authorities said.