Fire Forces Evacuations Near Kellogg 180 Firefighters, Aircraft Battle Blaze Of Suspicious Origin

A Wednesday afternoon wildfire forced the evacuation of a dozen homes and grew to more than 65 acres as it carved its way up a brushy ridge two miles east of here along Interstate 90.

Three helicopters made repeated water drops and two air tankers dumped retardant on 30-foot flames. More than 180 firefighters helped control the blaze as it crept through Montgomery Gulch.

Federal, state and local firefighters were still putting in fire lines and knocking down hot spots at 9:30 p.m, said spokesman Harvey McDonald of the Idaho Department of Lands. No one was injured and no homes were damaged.

The fire started about 50 feet up Montgomery Ridge about 2 p.m., said Dale Costa, fire chief for Shoshone County District 2. The cause was unknown, but officials said it did not appear to sparked by lightning.

“It looks suspiciously man-caused,” said Jerry Hagen, fire information officer with the U.S. Forest Service.

Power was cut to nearby homes, and residents were asked to stay with friends and family. Most residents piled clothing and pets into cars and headed for Kellogg.

“I don’t like fires, so I put what I could in my van and got out of there,” said Jane Gillman, who has lived up the gulch since 1966. “Now I’ve got a van full of dogs - two Pekinese and a German shepherd.”

As yellow-jacketed fire hands swarmed the 3,000-foot ridge like bees on a nest, resident Linda Dionne, 25, recalled her first sting from fires early this summer.

Dionne’s cousin, John Kelso, 27, was one of the Prineville, Ore., Hot Shots, firefighters killed this summer battling a blaze in Colorado.

“I just keep looking at those guys up there and wondering if they’re OK,” she said. Dionne didn’t leave her home, but packed all her valuables - mostly pictures - in case the call came.

Neighbors threw a water hose and two sprinklers on the roof of Mary Eixenberger’s home.

“As you can see, I’m the only one around here with a shingled roof,” she said.

Early winds died off in the evening, offering firefighters a hand with the flames licking over the ridge top from the north.

“We were trying to put in 150 feet of line, but the wind kept chasing us out,” said Brian Molina, crew chief for 19 fire hands from Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana.

Most of the blaze was under control by 6:30 p.m., but spot flames kept the firefighters busy. Helicopters drew water from nearby Big Creek to douse the blaze.

Despite weeks of water restrictions, firefighters said they had no trouble with water pressure.

SPOKANE HEADLINE: Wildfire forces evacuations near Kellogg.