Multiple fire agencies battle Blaine County barn fire

PHOTO: An electrical malfunction caused a fire to break out inside a barn in the Bellevue Triangle early Monday morning, resulting in the total loss of the structure, according to the Idaho State Fire Marshal’s Office. Wood River Fire & Rescue Chief Ron Bateman said the fire broke out around 4:39 a.m. Monday on the 100 block of Baseline Road near Bellevue. It wasn’t fully extinguished until around 11:50 a.m. Monday, according to WRFR Chief Bass Sears. Bateman said the fire drew a large mutual aid response "with about 20 firefighters” dispatched from Wood River Fire & Rescue, Carey Rural Fire & Rescue, the North Blaine County Fire District and the Hailey, Ketchum, Bellevue and Sun Valley fire departments after the call came in from Blaine County Emergency Communications.
Idaho Mountain Express - Metered Site

Shop Burns Down in Curry Neighborhood

A detached garage went up in flames in a Curry neighborhood Monday evening. According to the Filer Fire Department, two fire engine crews and two tanker trucks responded to a neighborhood just north of U.S. Highway 30 at just before 6 p.m. The people working inside the shop at the time were able to get out, and no injuries were reported. A fire engine and water truck from the Twin Falls Fire Department assisted with the fire. The blaze was under control within an hour and took about four hours before it was completely extinguished. Nearby structures were not damaged. The shop and vehicles inside were a total loss. The cause is under investigation.
KEZJ-FM 95.7 Twin Falls

Driver rescued by Kamiah Fire-Rescue from canyon after being exposed to the elements

A driver was rescued at the bottom of a canyon off of Highway 64 after spending a night exposed to the elements. According to the Kamiah Fire-Rescue (KFR), crews were dispatched at about 9 a.m. Sunday morning to reports of a vehicle in a canyon. KFR crews, assisted by the Lewis County Sheriff's Office, Idaho County Sheriff's Office and bystanders, arrived at the scene to find the vehicle about 350 feet down the canyon from the roadway. The driver had been in the vehicle since about 10:00 pm Saturday night was exposed to the elements overnight. The driver was found in stable condition, treated on scene and transported to a nearby hospital.
KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

Commentary: Idaho’s rancher-led Rangeland Fire Protection Associations work to stop wildfires early

PHOTOS: When black storm clouds gather on a hot summer night, Mountain Home rancher Charlie Lyons drives up to a high-point where he can watch for lightning strikes in the desert. “When there’s lightning, we’re all out, and I go right up there to the towers is one of my spots, to sit and watch,” Lyons says. Back in 2013, the Pony and Elk complex fires roared over the Mountain Home foothills and burned deep into Boise National Forest. Ranchers lost more than 100 cattle to the twin blazes, cabins burned in Featherville, and 281,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service land were charred in a matter of days. Speeding up initial attack and stopping wildfires from growing into huge destructive blazes was a major motivating force in leading Mountain Home ranchers to form the first Rangeland Fire Protection Association in the state 10 years ago.
Idaho Capital Sun