Firefighters gain upper hand on wildfire burning west of Pocatello

POCATELLO — Firefighters expected to have the wildfire burning in the hills just west of Pocatello fully contained on Tuesday night.

The blaze burned out of control on Monday afternoon in the City Creek trail system area, scorching 113 acres before firefighters with help from air tankers were able to slow the fire’s spread by Monday evening.

The Bureau of Land Management reported that the fire did not grow overnight and firefighters began early Tuesday morning to build containment lines around the blaze. Full containment was expected around 10 p.m. Tuesday, the BLM said.

The fire has not resulted in any evacuations or damage to structures but one person was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Authorities said on Monday night that the fire was burning on BLM land only two miles west of Pocatello city limits but they did not believe the blaze posed any threat to the city.

The BLM said firefighters fought the blaze aggressively on Monday but it was able to spread due to the windy and dry conditions.

Firefighters are expected to remain on the scene through at least Tuesday night.

The fire was reported by local residents around 2:20 p.m. Monday in the North Fork area of the City Creek trail system.

The smoke from the fire could soon be seen from throughout Pocatello as the blaze grew.

Pocatello, BLM, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs firefighters responded to the fire and by late Monday afternoon were receiving support from multiple firefighting planes.

The air tankers dropped several loads of retardant in an attempt to stop the spread of the flames.

Fortunately, the fire burned on rugged hilly terrain and never threatened any structures, authorities said.

The BLM said the cause of the blaze remains under investigation but stated via Facebook: “As we head into the holiday weekend please make sure to check those trailer chains and if your camp fire is too hot to touch it is too hot to leave.”

The public should stay away from the City Creek trail system until the fire has been extinguished.

Log In

The Idaho State Journal invites you to take part in the communityconversation. But those who don't play nice may be uninvited.Don't post comments that are off topic, defamatory, libelous,obscene, racist, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Wemay remove any comment for any reason or no reason. We encourageyou to report abuse, but the decision to delete is ours. Commentershave no expectation of privacy and may be held accountable fortheir comments. Comments are opinions of the author only, and donot reflect the opinions or views of Idaho State Journal.

To view our latest e-Edition, click the image on the left.

Sign up today, or manage your subscriptions, to one of our great newsletters: