Boise firefighters douse tree fire along Boise River Greenbelt and fire near airport
The Boise Fire Department has had a busy day.
Within the span of 24 hours, the department responded — and contained — a fire in the Boise Foothills, a tree fire along the Boise River Greenbelt and a grass fire west of the Boise Airport.
The Boise Fire Department and Bureau of Land Management responded to a 4-acre grass fire in the Boise Foothills at 4:45 p.m. Friday near North Collister Drive on Polecat Gulch that threatened a home and a barn, according to a Boise Fire Department social media post. The fire grew to 36 acres before crews were able to contain it.
Thirty units from Boise Fire and the Bureau of Land Management were sent to control the Polecat Gulch fire, including four engines, a bulldozer, three overhead firefighters, one fire investigator and one air attack plane. Fire crews were able to stop that fire’s forward progress late Friday night and expected to have full control of the 36-acre fire by 6 p.m. Saturday.
For comparison, Fort Boise Park north of Saint Luke’s Health System’s downtown Boise hospital is about 33 acres.
As firefighters battled the Polecat fire on Friday, crews from the Meridian, Gowen Field and Boise fire departments responded to a 2-acre grass fire off West McGlochlin Street off Cole Road, north of the New York Canal and west of the Boise Airport, according to a social media post from the Boise Fire Department.
The fire, which was started from a tractor mowing the field, threatened machinery and outbuildings, but crews were able to extinguish the fire Friday before it reached the structures, according to the post.
Five units were sent to control the fire, according to the post.
Around 2 a.m. on Saturday morning, Boise Fire Department also responded to a report that several trees were on fire along the Boise River Greenbelt, according to a social media post. The department dispatched five units to the fire just west of 9th Street near the 9th Street Bridge, Boise Library and Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial.
“Engine 5 arrived first to find numerous trees burning along a few hundred feet of the riverbank,” according to the post. “Firefight(er)s coordinated (the) fire attack and worked to extinguish the fire.”
The fire was controlled at 4 a.m. Saturday and Boise City Forestry arrived on scene to remove hazardous trees from the burn area, according to the post. The cause of the fire is unknown.
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