POCATELLO — Southeast Idaho firefighters had a busy weekend battling multiple blazes, including a brush fire that threatened homes and an Idaho Power substation on Pocatello’s west bench, a wildfire northeast of American Falls and a pair of lightning-caused wildfires in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest.
The most urgent of the blazes was the Pocatello fire, which ignited near Rocky Point Road around 6 p.m. Saturday and immediately began burning toward nearby homes and a power substation. A malfunctioning power line caught a pole on fire, and falling embers ignited the surrounding brush, the Pocatello Fire Department said. The department responded quickly, containing the blaze to less than 1 acre before it could reach any residences, though not before it burned through multiple power poles. Idaho Power crews responded to repair the damage, and authorities said there were no widespread power outages in the city as a result.
There were no injuries or evacuations. Pocatello police temporarily shut down Rocky Point Road during the firefighting effort, and crews remained on scene until around 8 p.m. to ensure the flames were fully out.
A separate wildfire broke out northeast of American Falls around 12:20 p.m. Saturday along Blind Springs Road before spreading to the area of Ramsey and Gas Plant roads. Firefighters reported containing the blaze around 3:30 p.m. and worked to extinguish remaining hot spots. The fire did not result in any injuries, evacuations, damage to structures or road closures. The cause has not been determined and authorities have not yet said how many acres burned. Meanwhile, two small wildfires ignited Saturday in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest after thunderstorms moved through the area. The Snow Hollow Fire ignited in Emigration Canyon about a mile off Highway 36, and the Jackknife Fire ignited along the Idaho-Wyoming border roughly 3 miles from Etna, Wyoming. Both fires burned on Forest Service land.
Fire crews spotted smoke from both blazes before dark Saturday and hiked in Sunday morning to reach them. A helicopter was called in to assist. By early Sunday evening both fires had been extinguished. Each burned less than an acre, and neither resulted in any injuries, evacuations or damage to structures, according to the Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center.