Tubbs fire burns less than 1 acre

COEUR d'ALENE - The wildfire on Tubbs Hill Tuesday night scorched just less than an acre and injured one firefighter, according to Coeur d'Alene Fire Chief Kenny Gabriel.

"(He was) released from work and we are evaluating the rest of it," Gabriel said Wednesday afternoon. "Nothing that hospitalized him. It was a minor injury."

Coeur d'Alene Fire, Northern Lakes Fire, the Idaho Department of Lands and Kootenai County Fire and Rescue responded to the fire, which was reported around 7:30 p.m. and was visible from the streets of downtown Coeur d'Alene. Gabriel said fire officials are confident that it was caused by a human, but it has not yet been determined if it was malicious. The fire was contained at 10:44 p.m. with no structures damaged.

"We are still evaluating what could have started it," Gabriel said, adding that officials are hoping to have the cause pinpointed at some point today.

No Tubbs Hill trails are closed at this time. Fire crews were all over Tubbs Wednesday and will be returning today to check for hotspots and any other signs of fire danger.

"They combed the area pretty well," Gabriel said. "They will continue to monitor it."

This was the second major fire on Tubbs Hill this summer. On June 20, about 5 acres burned when an apparently human-caused fire ignited in the hot, dry and windy conditions. Gabriel said the entire region is experiencing the unprecedented dry conditions, and he urges everyone to practice extreme caution and do whatever they can to prevent forest fires.

He said although it is fun to live in North Idaho and enjoy the outdoors, people need to remember that there will be no woods left to play in if they're all destroyed by fires.

"We're just asking people to do everything in their power to be extra careful, not to smoke in the woods, be extra cautious," he said. "Please to everything in your power to avoid these situations."