BLM says 137,000 acres have burned

The now-contained Southsim Fire lights up the evening sky behind a F-15SG assigned to the Republic of Singapore air force at Mountain Home Air Force Base Aug. 15 in this photo shot by base public affairs photographer Staff Sgt. Gina Chiaverotti-Paige.

Wildfires in the Boise BLM District, most near Mountain Home, have burned nearly 137,000 acres since Sunday, but firefighters continued to make progress on the fires, calling four of them contained by Tuesday night.

The four largest fires have occurred either in Elmore County or in Owyhee County just south of Bruneau.

The Big Hill, Union, Morrow, and Southsim fires were all called contained, with the Union and Morrow fires expected to be called controlled today.

Resources will continue to staff the Big Hill, Southsim and Blair Fires for a minimum of one additional day.

The Boise District has responded to 14 wildfires since Sunday evening's lightning storm. Most of the fires were caused by lightning, but some, including the Southsim (formerly Squaw) Fire near the airbase, are believed to have been human caused.

The ten-year average acreage burned for this time of year is 37,000 acres, with the season total average only reaching 46,000 acres.

"Fire crews have done an outstanding job, often working through the night with little to no sleep to control these fires," Fire Management Officer Andy Delmas said. "Helicopter and airtanker pilots have also done tremendous work supporting firefighters on the ground and protecting private property. We are grateful for the professionalism of the resources from our partnering agencies and the dedication they have shown to put these fires out."

The four biggest fires in the area are the Big Hill Fire, located 20 miles outh of Bruneau, which has burned 67,000 acres, the 38,000-acre Blair Fire eight miles north of Glenns Ferry, the 15,872 acres Southsim Fire near Mountain Home Air Force Base, and the Union Fire, between Mountain Home and Boise, which has burned 12,400 acres.

Other area fires included the Morrow Fire, which burned 1,207 acres, the Benny Fire, which charred 126 acres of sagebrush, the Char Size and North Char Size fires, which together burned 276 acres, and the South Pen fire, which burned 1,213 acres.

New fires also are being fought near Weiser and Horseshoe Bend.