Logging machines destroyed in Tiger Gorge fire
Photos courtesy of Shoshone County Fire District No.1. The scene that fire crews responded to on July, 28.
Starting on the road, the fire continued down the nearby hillside.
The aftermath as seen during the day. One of damaged logging machines can be seen in the distance.
This logging stroker was one of the three pieces of logging machinery affected by the flames.
OSBURN— In the early hours of July, 28, firefighters from Shoshone County Fire District No.1 (SCFD1) responded to a report of two logging machines on fire roughly four miles north of Wallace.
Initially believed to be in their district, a three man crew with a brush truck and fire engine followed the 911 caller up narrow logging roads onto state land near Tiger Gorge around 2:40 a.m.
Upon arrival, crews found that flames from two fully engulfed logging machines had caused a small wildfire approximately .2 acres in size on the downward slope of the site.
Firefighters immediately took action by deploying hose lines around one side of the fire while a Hancock Logging employee used a separate piece of logging machinery to dig a fire line around the other side.
The small SCFD1 crew was able to keep the fire from spreading any further from its original boundaries until fire crews from the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) arrived to finish mop-up operations.
The fire was officially declared contained and controlled at 5:32 p.m. that same day.
A third logging machine had also been destroyed by fire about a mile away, but that fire did not spread to the hillside.
SCFD1 Officer John Miller, who was first on the scene, reports that approximately $1.5 million in damages occurred as a result of the fire.
This high estimate is due to the damage that the logging machines received.
Miller was pleased with how his crew handled the call and stressed that distance is not an issue.
“(the) fire was outside our district as we were unaware of the exact location, but part of our core value is to protect property and with the weather lately we did not want to take any chances. With strong work from our crew and some help from the logging company we were able to slow it down and keep it contained so it would not spread.”
IDL declined to comment on the incident itself, but did state that cause of the fire is currently under investigation.