Help From All Over Aussies, Crews From Canada Fight Idaho Wildfires

They came from Down Under to help battle fires that could turn to raging blazes.

The Victorian Incident Command Team - a seven-member crew of expert firefighters from southeastern Australia - met with North Idaho fire teams on Wednesday.

They were among 79 Australians who flew to the United States in the past week to help fight the raging wildfires.

The state of Victoria is much like Idaho. Both have lush forests that can dry out in summer fire season, said David Tainsh, incident commander for the group.

The team, which worked with fire crews in the St. Joe and St. Maries area on Wednesday, was one of many groups called to the region to help battle fires.

Crews from Oregon, the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and the Northwest Territories in Canada were called in to help battle fires in the Coeur d’Alene Basin area, said Mike Denney, fire incident commander with the Idaho Department of Lands.

As of Wednesday morning, about 80 acres had burned in the Coeur d’Alene and Silver Valley areas, Denney said.

Forty people were fighting a 15- to 20-acre fire about 15 miles north of Kellogg.

All of the 42 fires burning in the area have been contained, controlled or are being mopped up, said Kerry Arneson with the U.S. Forest Service.

Smokejumpers and airplanes dropping fire retardant have been called in to fight fires in the Sandpoint area.

The Sandpoint City Council approved a resolution Wednesday evening to allow the Fire Department’s water tender to battle fires out of state and a fire engine to respond in North Idaho in emergencies.

If the tender is called out, it could be gone for weeks or months, Sandpoint Fire Chief Robert Tyler said. In an emergency, the city would make up for its loss with the help of other fire districts.

“If we had a catastrophic event happen in Sandpoint, we’d want the strike team to come here,” Tyler said. “It’s only fair for us to participate.”

A 160-acre fire near Lunch Peak still is burning, and firefighters are putting down hoses and building fire lines around it, said David Cobb, fire information officer with the U.S. Forest Service in Sandpoint.

A 200-acre blaze near Eastport, Idaho, is threatening Canadian land, so those fire officials plan to fight it, Cobb said.

“It’s more of a threat to Canada than it is to the big resources in Idaho.”

More than 20 Missoula smokejumpers became available in the Sandpoint area because blazes in the area became too big for them to fight, Cobb said.

Smokejumpers also were battling a small fire in the Independence Creek area in the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River drainage.

That fire picked up Tuesday night and melted a firefighter’s helmet, but slowed when it reached a previously logged area, Denney said.

Fire officials say they’ve gotten a handle on the fires, but worry about the next few days.

Winds are expected to pick up this weekend and crews are tired from battling this week’s fires, Denney said.

More crews are expected by Friday.

This sidebar appeared with the story: UPDATE

Panhandle fires All 42 fires burning in the area have been contained, controlled or are being mopped up, the U.S. Forest Service said.