Wildfire burns near Q'Emiln Park
<p>A firefighter sprays water onto a burning tree Monday as crews from several area agencies responded to a wildland fire near Q'Emiln Park in Post Falls.</p>
<p>James Neils, chief 702 with Hauser Lake Fire Protection District, holds a post as the northeast safety lookout over Lower Fifth Canyon.</p>
<p>A firefighter repels from a helicopter to assist in the efforts.</p>
<p>Smoke fills the air where firefighters fight the nearly 10-acre blaze near Q'Emiln Park.</p>
<p>Water is dropped from a bucket as crews help fight the wildland fire from the air.</p>
POST FALLS - Fire crews fought back a 10-acre wildfire Monday afternoon near Q'Emiln Park.
The cause of the fire, which broke out about 2:30 p.m., was still under investigation at press time.
Fire crews from Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, Idaho Department of Lands and Hauser Fire joined forces to attack the blaze in steep terrain by 3:30 in the afternoon.
Chief Dan Ryan, from KCFR, said they had combined forces of about 20 firefighters on the ground attacking the blaze.
A helitack crew out of Alberta, Canada, also joined the fight with a seven-member crew called Rappel Team Four.
Kelly Fleetham, who leads the rappel team, said six members of his crew rappelled into the fire from a Bell 212 helicopter. After dropping the firefighters, the helicopter continued to drop large buckets of water from the air.
Rappel Team Four is part of a Northwest Compact Agreement between several states and provinces in Canada. The agreement is essential to share resources on difficult fires.
The team is stationed in Sandpoint for this fire season, he said.
Ryan said there will be crews on the fire all night until the hot spots are cleaned up and IDL will likely be on the scene today making sure the fire is out.