Crews battle blaze near Blanchard
No building damage or injuries reported
As a firefighting helicopter dumped water from nearby Trask Pond, Jan Carney surveyed the land behind her home north of Blanchard, Idaho.
“It’s a happy ending,” she said. “When I saw the smoke, it’s like, ‘This is really happening to me.’ ”
About 10 neighbors fought a fire that scorched nine acres behind Carney’s home with hoses, shovels and a tractor before crews from the Spirit Lake Fire Department and surrounding agencies took over.
About nine acres burned an area about 1,000 feet behind the George R. White Bark Processing mill on Highway 41, five miles north of Blanchard.
The blaze briefly threatened several homes along Redneck Drive, including Carney’s, when it broke out about 11:45 a.m., but crews had it contained by 3:30 p.m. with no injuries or structure damage reported, said Spirit Lake fire Chief John DeBernardi.
The flames burned just a few hundred feet from Carney’s home and barn.
“And to the chicken house, it’s even closer,” she said.
Heavy winds – which DeBernardi estimated at 20 to 25 mph – shifted the fire’s direction and filled the area with smoke.
“It was spreading fast, but due to the quick response with the crews and homeowners in general, we were able to make progress pretty quickly,” DeBernardi said. A helicopter and two planes joined the effort.
The fire’s cause was under investigation Wednesday.