Bayview fire torches 500 acres
<p>Smoke billows across the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille as a wildfire burns on Cape Horn near Bayview on Sunday afternoon. The fire is estimated to be 500 acres in size.</p>
<p>People line the dock at MacDonald’s Hudson Bay Resort and Marina and watch as a wildfire spreads across the Cape Horn mountainside Sunday.</p>
<p>An airplane drops fire retardant on the Cape Horn fire in Bayview Sunday afternoon.</p>
<p>Flames and smoke approach a home on Cape Horn in Bayview on Sunday.</p>
<p>The entire mountainside became quickly engulfed in flames Sunday after a wildfire broke out on Cape Horn in Bayview.</p>
BAYVIEW - A wildfire reported early Sunday afternoon on Cape Horn in Bayview had grown to 500 acres by early evening, and at least three structures had burned.
Flames kicked up by the wind quickly engulfed the steep, forested mountainside overlooking southern Lake Pend Oreille.
The people of Bayview were on pins and needles as they lined the streets throughout the afternoon, helplessly watching the fire move down the hill toward the water, threatening to turn toward the town.
"It's nerve-racking," said longtime Bayview resident Ralph Jones. "It's our worst nightmares come true."
Around 3 p.m., Barbara Bitner stood on the side of Perimeter Road, near the Bayview Post Office and looked anxiously up at the plumes of smoke billowing from the mountainside.
Bitner left her home near the affected area around noon, after smelling smoke.
"Neighbors started telling everybody, 'You better get out of here because it's coming right at us,' and it looks like it's going to take my place," Bitner said.
Her son, who is in his 40s and lives with her, refused to evacuate when Bitner did.
"It's really grown since I was up there. I hope he gets out of there," she said.
Evacuation orders were in place for the entire length of Cape Horn Road to Perimeter Road, according to Northern Lakes Fire District public information officer Jim Lyon. Timberlake High School in Spirit Lake served as a temporary shelter for evacuees.
"The fire broke in two fingers," Lyon said. "It came over from Bonner County and it came over from the north and is traveling south and west right now, it appears to be."
Large aircraft dropped fire retardant and helicopters dropped water in efforts to contain the flames, but the wind and extremely dry conditions combined created a dangerous fire situation.
"It's moving pretty quick," Lyon said. "We're asking people not to come into Bayview, to stay out of the Bayview area."
Jason Kirchner, spokesman for Idaho Panhandle National Forest, told The Press shortly before 7 p.m. that the blaze had spread to roughly 500 acres.
Fire officials advised that additional incident command teams had been ordered and are expected to arrive within the next day or so. Cape Horn Road has been blocked by rocks about halfway at the cliffs with all fire crews on the Bayview side of the road.
At least three structures were fully involved, but fire officials could not confirm Sunday night what types of structures they were.
Additional house fires were reported along the road at Cape Horn shortly before 9:30 p.m. Fire crews were heading out there and additional crews were being called in to assist in the morning.
Several agencies are helping battle the blaze, including Spirit Lake Fire Protection, Coeur d'Alene Fire, Northern Lakes, Timberlake Fire District, the Idaho Department of Lands, the U.S. Forest Service, Worley Fire Protection District, personnel from emergency operations centers and strike teams from Spokane Valley. Lyon said about 40 people were actively staging and positioning to fight the fires with the possibility of 100 more coming in if necessary.
"It's a fast-moving wildfire driven by winds and dry conditions," Lyon said. "It's certainly one of our extreme fire dangers, and keeping tabs on its direction and size, that's what we're trying to figure out. It's an extremely dangerous situation ... we have so much smoke that you can't get a handle on where the actual fire on the ground is. What we don't want to do is rush into the scene, lose track of personnel, where they are, and have them cut off. Personnel and citizen safety is our No. 1 priority right now."
The cause of the fire was unknown early Sunday evening.
"It appears that it's some kind of a recreational fire is all we've been told," said Timberlake acting duty chief and Idaho State Deputy Fire Marshal Bill Steele. "We're just now starting the investigation."
Many Bayview residents and visitors who enjoyed Bayview's Fourth of July festivities packed up and left town. A city-wide evacuation was a possibility if the fire got too out of hand, Lyon said, but he felt those fighting the fire were getting it under control by early evening.
Several bystanders stood on the sides of surrounding roads to take pictures and watch the forest fire rage as smoke billowed across the bay.
"We've got close friends that actually live down here in town," said Melissa Nelson of Spirit Lake. "This wind is terrible. We've been sitting here for a half an hour and the wind, it seems like it's blowing it more this way ... this is not a good thing at all."