7/19/2007
U.S. 20 closed again between Idaho Falls and INL junction
RIGBY - A large grass fire at East Butte near the Idaho National Laboratory prompted the closure of U.S. 20 between Idaho Falls and the INL junction this afternoon, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) announced.
The highway closed at 12:11 p.m just west of Idaho Falls at milepost 301 to the junction of U.S. 20-26 on the INL site at milepost 272. ITD estimates the road might reopen at 6 p.m.
Alternate routes for motorists are Idaho 33 past Mud Lake or U.S. 26 through Blackfoot.
The Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center (EIIFC) of Idaho Falls requested the road closure to conduct a second backburn of grass and sagebrush along the highway. EIIFC officials believe the burning is necessary to prevent the fire from jumping the highway.
EIIFC burned grass and sagebrush Wednesday night, closing the route from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. today. Officials said today's controlled burn could stretch along five miles of the highway.
At noon, high winds continued to drive the wildfire to the east and north of East Butte. At 1 p.m., EIIFC estimated the fire had scorched 4,800 acres. Officials had no estimated time of containment.
During the past 30 hours, the fire has burned grass, sagebrush and juniper on most of East Butte, which is one of the twin buttes on the desert between Idaho Falls and Arco.
For current highway and weather conditions throughout the state, access the Idaho Traveler Services Web site at 511.idaho.gov or call 511 from phones within Idaho. Reports are updated twice daily or whenever conditions change on Idaho highways.