Sheep Fire in Idaho rapidly consumes over 110,000 acres, prompts partial evacuations
(Bureau of Land Management Idaho Fire)
A wildfire in Idaho was ignited by a strike of lightning on Monday and quickly burned over 113,000 acres by Wednesday evening. The fire is burning on the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site, located close to Idaho Falls.
On Thursday morning, the INL announced that the fire was sufficiently managed and that crews were expecting to reach 100% containment soon. They also wrote that all facilities and bus routes with the laboratory have resumed to normal operations.
The blaze is being called the Sheep Fire for its proximity to a nearby dirt access road called Sheep Road.
Photo taken by Lincoln Riddle
Juan Alvarez, Chief Operations Officer of the Idaho National Laboratory, confirmed on Tuesday at a press conference that the fire was ignited by lightning at 6:30 p.m Monday.
“Fires this time of the year is something that we expect and prepare for,” Alvarez said. “As a result, as we fight this fire, there have been no injuries, no facilities have been threatened and the public has not been threatened at all.”
According to Alvarez, all non-essential personnel were evacuated from potentially impacted facilities earlier this week. The INL is considered one of the nation’s leading research and development centers for nuclear energy.
In Thursday's news release, the INL detailed encouraging updates to local residents.
"INL and Bureau of Land Management fire crews have made significant progress towards containing the Sheep Fire. It's estimated the fire is 60 percent contained," the release said. "The fire no longer poses a threat to key INL research facilities."
Emergency response has been scaled back as a result of fire crews gaining the upper hand.
"The Sheep Fire at the Idaho National Laboratory desert site is sufficiently contained to scale back the emergency response, according to fire officials," a news release Thursday afternoon said. "Crews will continue to monitor and work the perimeter until the fire has been completely extinguished with no remaining hot spots."
Crews expect full containment to be reached by Friday evening.
In Tuesday's news release, the INL wrote that operations were curtailed at most site facilities. They also wrote that Bureau of Land Management and INL fire crews supported by other collaborating municipalities were working together to fight the fire.
The Sheep Fire is one of seven wildfires currently burning in Idaho, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Download the free AccuWeather app for more details on temperature trends in your community. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
