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Fires impacting air, highway travel

Idaho led all western states with six active wildfires covering nearly 100,000 acres as of Thursday evening, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise.

Of the six fires, two (the Warms Springs fire on the Payette National Forest and the Jim Sage fire in the Twin Falls District of the Bureau of Land Management) had been contained as of Wednesday.

The largest of the active blazes is the Black Pine 2 in the Sawtooth National Forest, about 11 miles southeast of Malta, burning primarily in brush and grass. It had blackened approximately 65,000 acres as of Thursday.

The Warm Springs fire in the Payette National Forest was contained at about 23,760 acres. The U.S. Forest Service reported that some structures were threatened.

A new fire, Zena Creek, in the Payette National Forest, broke out Thursday, initially reported at 200 acres about 25 miles northeast of McCall. It is burning in timber and was making short runs and threatening some structures.

Fires forced the closure of Idaho 16 near the Firebird Raceway early this week and closure of a rest area near Jerome. The latter consumed a small ITD maintenance shed at the rest stop.
ITD employees are urged to be careful when parking at maintenance facilities in tinder-dry conditions. Heat from catalytic converters can ignite dry grass. All travelers to Idaho state parks and recreational areas are urged to use extreme caution and observe all posted warnings about where to drive, park or camp.

The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation Wednesday implemented Stage I fire restrictions that prohibit building, maintaining and attending fires within undeveloped recreation sites, without an owner-provided fire structure.

Stage I restrictions also prohibit smoking except within enclosed vehicles or buildings, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.

Fire updates are available at the National Interagency Fire Center’s Web site.

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Photo: An ITD maintenance shed was destroyed by fire near a southern Idaho fire this week.