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400-acre fire triggered by Tuesday windstorm
An arcing powerline, resulting from high winds that blew through the area Tuesday (June 18) evening, is being blamed for a fire that scorched an estimated 400 acres of grasslands northwest of Glenns Ferry.
Bureau of Land Management fire crews and King Hill Rural Fire District responded to the Moon Fire after Elmore County Dispatch received a report of a fire near milemarker 112 at about 8:30 p.m.
The Moon Fire burned along the plateau between Cold Springs and Alkali Creek. Traveling southeast and carried by heavy winds, it jumped the King Hill Irrigation District canal and continued toward the interstate.
The BLM dedicated a crew of 15, two engines, one water tender and one dozer to the fire. The King Hill firemen responded with four brush trucks, a water tender and a crew of 12. Two water tankers from the Mountain Home Rangeland Fire Protection Association also responded.
The windstorm caused power outages in Hammett, King Hill and Glenns Ferry.
In Glenns Ferry, 817 Idaho Power Company (IDPC) customers were without electricity from 9:20-11:23 p.m. resulting from a "feeder lockout," said Kevin Winslow, Communications Specialists with IDPC. At 11:55 p.m., a power outage affected 47 Glenns Ferry customers. Their power was restored at 2:42 a.m. Wednesday morning.
A powerline that serves the Hammett and King Hill areas blew down causing a power outage that effected 497 customers. The outage lasted from 10:44-11:03 p.m., Winslow said.
Anemometer readings taken at the Suzlon windpark, located west of the fire, clocked sustainable winds at 26.8 mph, with wind gusts up to 31.7, said Tim Cabral, a lead technician with the company.