Fires near Coeur d’Alene Airport were sparked by airplane

Several small fires sparked Monday near the Coeur d’Alene Airport were started by an airplane, Kootenai County reported on its Facebook page.

The post said the plane landed safely and there were no injuries “as a result of this incident.” No further description of what occurred was provided.

Jim Lyons, spokesman for Northern Lakes Fire District, said crews battled about seven fires, though none grew to the size of a major wildfire. The first blazes started about 2 p.m. and spread from there.

Shoshana Cooper, spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service in North Idaho, said the fires burned to the northwest, south and east of the airport near U.S. Highway 95. She said they burned mostly grass and brush and were not affecting structures. As of 3:30 p.m., no structures had been lost.

Multiple aircraft were sent in to drop retardant on the blazes, but firefighters weren’t sure early Monday afternoon how large the fires had grown.

Jerry Moreau, a captain for the Northern Lakes Fire Protection District, said firefighters were able to contain the fires by mid-afternoon and had the fire mostly out by Monday evening.