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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Crews making progress on wildfire east of Boise

A plane drops fire retardant on a wildfire behind Lucky Peak Reservoir just off of Idaho State Highway 21 in Boise, Idaho, Tuesday, July 19, 2016. (Kyle Green / Associated Press)
Associated Press

BOISE – A wildfire burning in sagebrush and grass about 15 miles east of Boise is 50 percent contained as crews have had success putting in fire lines.

About 200 firefighters on Thursday planned to continue to work on fire lines on the north side of the fire that is about 7 square miles in size.

The human-caused blaze started Tuesday afternoon and quickly ballooned to 5 square miles before retardant bombers slowed its growth.

In central Idaho, about 200 firefighters are battling a wildfire in rugged terrain burning in brush and timber. The fire is about a square mile in size.

A Type 2 Incident Management Team that has more experience in handling wildfires is scheduled to take over management of the fire on Friday.