9/4/2007
Idaho 55 closed Tuesday afternoon due to fire
BOISE - Idaho 55 north of Horseshoe Bend closed Tuesday at about 12:30 p.m. because of a fire close to the highway, the Idaho Transportation Department announced.
Idaho 55 closed from milepost 65, north of Horseshoe Bend, to just short of milepost 79, which is just south of the junction of Idaho 17 (Banks-Lowman Highway) and Idaho 55.
"Right now, the fire is on the east side of the highway. We're getting rolling debris, and falling trees," said Dan Bryant, the Idaho Transportation Department's District 3 Maintenance Manager. "The winds have picked up. The fire is moving faster. High winds are expected this afternoon. We were going to try and keep it open, but then the wind picked up."
The Chief Parrish Fire started at about 5 p.m. Monday evening. Bryant said it had burned 1,000 acres as of Tuesday afternoon.
No time has been set to re-open the section of Idaho 55.
For current driving conditions on Idaho highways, call 5-1-1 or visit 511.idaho.gov.
Idaho 55 closed from milepost 65, north of Horseshoe Bend, to just short of milepost 79, which is just south of the junction of Idaho 17 (Banks-Lowman Highway) and Idaho 55.
"Right now, the fire is on the east side of the highway. We're getting rolling debris, and falling trees," said Dan Bryant, the Idaho Transportation Department's District 3 Maintenance Manager. "The winds have picked up. The fire is moving faster. High winds are expected this afternoon. We were going to try and keep it open, but then the wind picked up."
The Chief Parrish Fire started at about 5 p.m. Monday evening. Bryant said it had burned 1,000 acres as of Tuesday afternoon.
No time has been set to re-open the section of Idaho 55.
For current driving conditions on Idaho highways, call 5-1-1 or visit 511.idaho.gov.