Crews Stop Flames That Closed Road

A brush fire east of Rathdrum forced a road closure Wednesday and threatened two homes before firefighters extinguished the blaze.

Firefighters successfully protected the houses and an outbuilding from flames that snaked their way through brush and pine trees south of Diagonal Road. Firefighters closed a two-mile stretch of the road west of Ramsey Road for several hours while they snuffed out hot spots.

Embers from a fire in a burn barrel sparked the blaze in the 2500 block of Diagonal Road about 12:15 p.m., firefighters said. The barrel was positioned away from buildings in the area, but was in a brush patch.

Department of Lands firefighters cautioned people against using burn barrels in dry conditions. Lush undergrowth from a rainy spring has dried out quickly as temperatures have hovered in the mid-90s the past several weeks.

“We were very lucky,” said Wayne Nowacki, Rathdrum fire chief.

Flames licked at a storage shed about 100 yards from the burn barrel when the first of 18 firefighters arrived, Nowacki said. They turned away the fire before it reached a vehicle parked inside.

Winds pushed flames east several hundred feet before a lands department tractor cut a trail around it to halt the fire’s progress. Fire departments in Hayden and Athol also sent firefighters to the blaze.

A woman who was burning yard waste in the barrel also set up several sprinklers to help cool the burned area. Her name was not released.

Lands department officials likely will tally the costs to battle the fire and bill her, Nowacki said.