Soda Fire crawls toward Murphy
The Soda Fire, which started heading east on Thursday night, popped up in hot spots all over the Owyhee Mountains. The small burst of flames near Wilson Road started at around 5:30 p.m. Friday. Two helicopters pulled water from the Snake River and dropped more than 500 gallons on the flames.
The Soda Fire reached 265,000 acres by Friday afternoon and is expected to travel east toward Murphy over night. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but officials say the incident was most likely started by a lightning strike.
According to Bureau of Land Management Spokeswoman Robyn Broyles, the fire is 10 percent contained. Over 500 crew members spread across the mountains trying to keep the upper hand on the blaze.
The response to the fire has cost about $2 million, according to the BLM, but that figure is expected to rise.
A cold front was expected Friday night, bringing winds that line up perfectly with the Owyhee Mountain canyons.
“We’ve had as many firefighters as we can down there today bulldozing, working with air tankers and working with the water support to make sure the fire does not encroach further to Murphy,” Broyles said.
The Soda Fire was 10 air miles (an air mile, or nautical mile, is 6,080 feet while a land mile is 5,280 feet) from the town of Murphy, home of Owyhee County’s Historical Society and Museum.
Owyhee County Sheriff Perry Grant said even though the Soda Fire was close to town, there were no plans to evacuate Friday.
“There’s always a chance it might come close, but as of right now, we’re in good shape,” he said.
Sgt. Paul Maund with the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office said residents who want to know more about the fire can check the Owyhee County Sheriff’s Facebook Page or call the sheriff’s office directly.
“The best thing they can do is stay informed about what’s going on,” he said. “We’re putting out all of our updates.”
One problem fire crews keep facing is flare ups of fires in areas that were put out previously.
Maund said law enforcement from Canyon County was called out around 8 a.m. Friday morning to help Owyhee County with traffic control. He patrolled Wilson Creek Road to keep vehicles away from the fire.
“With the weather conditions and the uncontrollable wind out here, it creates these little flare ups that we’ve had,” Maund said. “We’ve had these little flare ups all over the area.”
He said recreational areas like Rabbit Creek have been closed off to traffic.
LOCALS FEEL THE HEAT
After a Thursday night scare, the owner of Givens Hot Springs in Melba has faith that her business, which was established in 1881, will be safe from the Soda Fire’s blaze.
Nadine Givens, owner of Givens Hot Springs, said she could see the line of fire from one end of the valley to the other end behind her business. She received notices of a recommended evacuation around 2 a.m., but when she called the Owyhee County Sheriff’s Office, between 2-3 a.m., they told her it was only a recommendation to be prepared for future evacuation.
She and other people at Givens Hot Springs have no plans to evacuate.
Givens said the campgrounds and pool house are still open, and the area near her is experiencing less smoke than yesterday. Several people visited the pool house Friday.
“It was a little nerve-racking for a while, but it’s a little better,” said Givens. “Most of the evacuation notices are warnings. They were sending (warnings) even two days ago.”
Throughout Thursday night there were some trucks and helicopters going to the river to get water, Givens said. But there were less in her area Friday.
High winds Thursday night caused increased fire activity in those areas on the southeast flank of the fire. More than 300 additional resources were put in place Thursday night to reinforce the line through the night.
The Wilson Creek Cattle Feeders feedlot off of Wilson Creek Road nearly missed the Soda Fire on Thursday night. Lynn Keness, feedlot manager in training, said employees and owners bull dozed a fire line around the property which ended up protecting them from loosing their cattle and feed.
“It lasted until about 2:30 a.m.,” Keness said. “We had a fire guard.”
Keness said Wilson Creek Cattle Feeders house over 10,000 head of dairy and beef cattle on the land. The fire line was about five feet away and surrounded the property.
Firefighters will continue to secure and reinforce the line on the northwestern and western flanks of the fire. There was little growth on the west and northwest edge of the fire last night.
A new incident management team will join the effort today and will be focused on the south side of the fire, BLM officials said in a press conference Friday.
IDAHO POWER WORKING IN JORDAN VALLEY AREA
Idaho Power had nine crews with more than 50 employees each working to rebuild power poles and lines destroyed by the Soda Fire in the Jordan Valley area.
Crews set about 40 power poles on Thursday and continued to work Friday to replace more than 100 poles lost to the fire, Idaho Power officials said.
A generator was brought in earlier this week, but Idaho Power anticipates the outage will continue for multiple days.
BLM MONITORS WILD HORSES AFFECTED BY SODA FIRE
BLM crews are monitoring the status of wild horses in the Sands Basin and Hardtrigger herd management areas. Sands Basin is about 13 miles southwest of Homedale and Hardtrigger is south of the Snake River between Murphy and Highway 95.
More than 60,000 acres have burned in the Hardtrigger area, and nearly 12,000 acres have burned in Sands Basin, according to the BLM.
There were at least 60 horses spotted by a specialist near Jump Creek in an unburned area of Sands Basin. Supplemental hay will be brought to the horses. There are 170 horses in the Hardtrigger area, and many were roaming in unburned areas where there is enough forage for them, BLM officials said.
Gates and fences have been opened and cut to let the horses move out of the way of the fire. One horse had to be euthanized, because of fatal wire injuries. The BLM expects more horses may have been injured trying to escape the fire.
BLM officials are considering an emergency wild horse gather, because there isn’t enough unburned forage for the horses to get through the winter. Some would be taken to the Boise Wild Horse Corrals to be cared for.
CANYON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE FIELDS COMPLAINTS
The Canyon County Sheriff’s Office has received calls about people trespassing on private property to get a better view of the Soda Fire.
People have also been parking on or near a landing strip near Melba to watch the fire, which makes it dangerous for aircraft. The landing strip in the area of Pump Road and Melmont Road is clearly marked with no trespassing signs, barriers and yellow tape, according to the sheriff’s office, and people are advised to stay out of that area.
The sheriff’s office is asking residents to respect private property, and to find other areas to watch the fire rather than trespassing.
RED CROSS OPENS CENTER
The Red Cross opened a respite center in Marsing on Friday for those displaced the Soda Fire. The center is at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church at 215 Third Ave. W.
OTTER, LITTLE TO TOUR SODA FIRE AREA
Gov. Butch Otter will conduct an aerial tour Saturday of the Soda and Clearwater complex fires, both burning in the state.
Otter and Lt. Gov. Brad Little will be briefed on the Soda fire and will host a press conference at 2:30 p.m., at the Homedale Armory, 432 Nevada St.
Little will tour parts of Ed and Debbie Wilsey’s ranch in Owyhee County. The family lost some of their livestock in the fire, according to a news release. He will also visit a fire camp in Homedale to talk to crews and fire leaders before joining Otter for the press conference at 2:30 p.m.
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