Lightning strikes cause numerous fires

A fast moving dry lightning storm passing through the area last Friday sparked several wildfires in western Elmore and eastern Owyhee counties, keeping local and BLM firefighters busy battling the blazes for most of the weekend.

Close to 14,000 acres burned in four different fires in the Mountain Home and Bruneau area, according to the Boise District BLM office, with all being contained by early Sunday morning.

Volunteers from the Mountain Home Rural Fire District along with firefighters from Mountain Home Air Force Base assisted BLM crews until late into the evening on Friday to contain fires that were burning close to structures near the base.

The Bruneau Arm Complex, located five miles northeast of Bruneau, burned approximately 5,900 acres and was contained by Sunday morning.

The Nichol Fire, located nine miles southwest of Mountain Home, burned approximately 5,000 acres of grass and brush and has been controlled.

The Liberator Fire, also located nine miles west of Mountain Home, burned 300 acres and was contained Friday night.

The North Flat Fire, also located roughly nine miles west of Mountain Home, burned approximately 2,470 acres and had been controlled as of Monday afternoon.

At least 15 fires caused by the lightning strikes were reported from the Oregon border to the Mountain Home area and south of Interstate 84 on Friday, with the Bruneau Highway (Highway 51) closed temporarily due to low visibility from the thick smoke.

Large fires continued to burn on Monday afternoon approximately 45 miles south of Silver City with the BLM not giving an expected containment time.

The Boulder Creek fire is currently at approximately 6,000 acres and actively burning grass, juniper and brush in steep terrain with 150 firefighters assigned to this fire.

Three other fires, called The Tongue Complex, include the Red Canyon Fire and the Crutcher Fire, have burned about 12,000 acres. Some unoccupied historical cabins were burned in those fires.

The Bald Mountain Fire has burned approx. 4,000 acres of grass and brush and was not contained Monday afternoon.