Close call
<p>A Forest Service helicopter drops water and fire retardant on an estimated 100-acre wildfire near Fighting Creek on Tuesday afternoon. Ground crews responded to the fire around 2 p.m. and the fire was under control by 5 p.m.</p>
<p>Worley Firefighter Dan Mooney pulls up a firehose as his engine moves locations to fight a wildfire that started Tuesday afternoon. Worley Fire, Idaho Department of Lands, Mica-Kidd Isladn Fire, Spokane County and the Forest Service all responded to fight the wildfire.</p>
<p>Casey Schelin, from the Idaho Department of Lands, communicates with his crews while fighting a wildfire that started near Fighting Creek on Tuesday afternoon.</p>
<p>Worley Firefighter Del Blackburn walks across a field partially burned by am estimated 100 acre wildfire that started Tuesday afternoon near Fighting Creek.</p>
FIGHTING CREEK - A small slash fire quickly spread into an estimated 100-acre wildland fire on Tuesday near Fighting Creek, a homeowner told The Press.
No structures were damaged, but the fire came within about 250 feet of the homeowner's newer 3,000-square-foot home and threatened others in the vicinity.
The homeowner, who declined to be identified, said he split wood earlier in the day and started a small fire of bark near the outbuilding on the property.
He said he and his wife went inside the building for a few minutes and, when he came out, the field of hay stubble across the dirt road had caught on fire.
"We were right here with it, but the wind kicked up," he said. "I couldn't believe I looked up and saw the smoke. It's not like we had made a bonfire."
The homeowner said he tried to form a line in the field with the bucket on his tractor to contain the fire, but the wind proved to be too much and the fire spread to trees in a valley a quarter of a mile below the home.
"It took the volunteer (firefighter) guys a while to make it here; otherwise they may have been able to get to it before it hit the trees," he said. "One of the reasons I moved out here was to get away from the pine trees (next to the house); now I'm going to have a lot of burnt ones to cut down."
The homeowner's wife said the couple are embarrassed over the fire.
"It's extremely upsetting," she said.
Shane O'Shea, Idaho Department of Lands assistant fire warden, said the fire is a reminder of how dry conditions still are and that we're not out of the woods with wildfire season.
"The main reason for the spread is the unseasonably warm conditions," O'Shea said. "It's well above normal for this time of year and we've had below-normal precipitation. With extremely dry fuel conditions, it went fast. Once it was out of the grass (field) and into the island of timber, it became even more intensive."
The fire west of U.S. 95 along Weller Road off Elder Road was reported around 2 p.m. A Forest Service helicopter and an airplane assisted ground crews from Worley Fire, IDL, Mica-Kidd Island and Spokane County in fighting the fire.
The fire was under control at 5 p.m., but crews were going to be on hand throughout the night for hot spots.
"There's still visibleflames in the trees," O'Shea said on Tuesday night.
O'Shea said he'll start his investigation of the fire today as he spent Tuesday fighting the fire.