Sagle fire destroys two homes
Firefighters can be seen at the Schneiders Road fire Monday afternoon in Sagle. Two homes and two outbuildings were reported destroyed in the fire, according to Selkirk Fire officials.
Photo courtesy COURTNEY CONGDON
Firefighters work to contain the Schneiders Road fire Monday afternoon.
Fire crews work to keep a fire in the Schneiders Road area from spreading. The fire, reported early Monday afternoon, destroyed two residences and two outbuildings.
Smoke can be seen from the Schneiders Road area after a structure fire was reported early Monday afternoon. The fire destroyed two homes and two outbuildings and, as of Monday evening, just under 4 acres of heavy brush and timber.
SAGLE — Two homes were among a handful of buildings destroyed in a Monday afternoon fire in the Sagle area, according to Selkirk Fire officials.
Two outbuildings were also reported to have been destroyed in the fire, which was reported at 1:11 p.m. in the 100 block of Schneiders Road. When firefighters arrived on the scene of the fire, they found multiple structures involved and the fire spreading to nearby vegetation, Selkirk Fire's Brandon Vaccaro told the Daily Bee.
While erratic winds hampered firefighting efforts, Vaccaro said air tankers were able to make retardant drops on the fire, which helped reduce the growth of the fire. As of Monday evening, the vegetation fire remained under 4 acres.
"This fire will require an extended attack to reach full containment," Vaccaro said. "Along with the vegetation, we expect challenges from the weather, with potentially unfavorable weather over the next 24-48 hours."
When crews arrived at the scene, they found multiple buildings on fire and flames spreading to the nearby vegetation. Selkirk Fire Chief Jeff Armstrong took command of the incident and immediately requested additional resources, a request that was complicated by an accident near the Long Bridge, which hampered response from north of Lake Pend Oreille.
A unified command with the Idaho Department of Lands was established once the fire spread into the heavy brush and timber near the structures, Vaccaro said.
Firefighters made a direct assault on the fire at about 3:41 p.m. with the assistance of aerial resources, Vaccaro said.
Residents in the Schneiders Road area were briefly placed on "Ready" status under the Ready-Set-Go evacuation protocol Monday afternoon before it was lifted at about 6:40 p.m.
Under the "Ready" status, residents are advised to have a plan to evacuate if necessary. Under the "Set" status, residents are advised to begin putting their plan into place. Under "Go" status, residents are told to leave immediately due to an imminent threat.
The fire was turned over to the Idaho Department of Lands just after 7 p.m. as the primary agency as firefighters continued working on containment of the vegetation fire. IDL advised it would remain at the scene overnight to continue suppression work on the fire.
Vaccaro said the public should monitor Nixle alerts from the Bonner County Sheriff's Office to stay up to date on the fire as well as Selkirk's social media.
Selkirk Fire officials thanked all the assisting agencies, including the Idaho Department of Lands, Timberlake Fire, Northside Fire, and Bonner County Sheriff. Three engines from Selkirk Fire were among the equipment responding to the fire, with 12 firefighters from the Selkirk and Northside fire districts responding to fight the fire.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Firefighters work to contain the Schneiders Road fire Monday afternoon.
Fire crews work to keep a fire in the Schneiders Road area from spreading. The fire, reported early Monday afternoon, destroyed two residences and two outbuildings.
Smoke can be seen from the Schneiders Road area after a structure fire was reported early Monday afternoon. The fire destroyed two homes and two outbuildings and, as of Monday evening, just under 4 acres of heavy brush and timber.