Range fire prompts evacuation at INL

BOISE – Firefighters at the Idaho National Laboratory are battling a range fire that has burned more than 47 square miles and prompted the evacuation of employees.

INL officials say Tuesday’s blaze got to within 300 yards of a mothballed test facility near the lab’s Materials and Fuels Complex. Only essential employees are being asked to report to work at the complex today.

Winds gusting up to 55 mph were pushing the fire northeast toward Mud Lake Tuesday evening.

Shortly after the fire was discovered, all personnel at the lab’s Power Burst Facility and two other units were evacuated.

The INL complex stretches across an 890-square-mile federal reserve and is located about 15 miles north of Idaho Falls.