Clear and present danger

KELLOGG - A fire broke out shortly after 2 p.m. in the hills above the intersection of 2nd Street and Silver Avenue in Kellogg, and quickly spread up the hill. As of press time, the fire had broken through the Kellogg city line, and was barreling toward Wardner, having already caused roughly 20 acres of damage.

Officials do not yet know the cause, but investigators are on the scene.

Shoshone County District 2 fire personnel, the Idaho Department of Lands and Forest Service all rushed to the scene - nearly 100 firefighters in all - and set up a command center outside the District 2 firehouse with a Shoshone County Mobile Care unit, just down the road from the root of the fire.

Nuel Wallace, an auxiliary fire volunteer that was manning the Kellogg station, said the fire had stopped spreading toward Division, but was making its way toward Wardner.

"It halted toward Division, but it is closer to the Wardner area," he said. "We've dispatched a protective engine for a house out there, there are flames creeping toward the backyard. So far, everyone is safe and sound, and we have a shelter set up at the Church of Nazarene for anyone who needs it."

The fire spread quickly, and was roughly 10 yards off the street before District 2 personnel contained the fire that had jumped down the hill. Flames were billowing up tree trunks and flames several feet high were feeding off the brush and timber in the area. As of 5 p.m., the fire had spread to Wardner, and additional units were called in for precautionary reasons.

Len Young, the fire warden for the Idaho Department of Lands, and Dale Costa, the fire chief of District 2, were in control of the command center outside the firehouse in Kellogg.

Costa said the biggest problem - his worst nightmare, he called it - was the "looky-loos." Those wanting to get a glimpse of the fire, as well as their vehicles, took up space that personnel needed.

Anything said about the cause is purely speculation, he noted, but there have been reports of children who were about 10 years old, in the area when the blaze began.

As of press time, a helicopter made several drops to help contain the blaze.

"We've had several drops on the peak fires on the back hill, and they were done not just by a helicopter, but by a fixed-wing as well," Wallace said. "It's helping contain a burst of fire and smoke at the top of the hill. It seems to be slowing down, but the wind is picking up."

There were three fixed-wing tankers dropping retardant.

Today's forecast calls for a cloudless day with about the same temperatures as Wednesday. No precipitation is anticipated, but Wallace believes that the early morning dew could be of real importance as the fire personnel struggle to contain the flames.

"We have a high dew point, but that probably won't occur until the early morning hours," he said. "The moisture will help prevent the spread of fire, but we've got to wait for that. Until then we're going to just keep fighting this fire."

Shortly before 6 p.m., an Oregon based initial tactical unit that is run by ASI Incorporated was contracted from Coeur d'Alene and took four trucks into the scene and geared up to get ready to battle the blaze.

Empty gondolas from Silver Mountain Ski Resort were still running as of press time.

Lift maintenance worker Sean Murphy said the reasoning behind this strategy is so one specific part of the line doesn't overheat.

As of 4:30 p.m., there were 60 cars on the line. In the event they had to be removed, it would take about an hour to do so, he said.

Murphy said about 10 people were on various elevations of the mountain monitoring how close the blaze came.