Unified effort stops fire within fence line

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Andrew Leonhard
  • 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho --  A brush fire believed to be human-caused burned approximately 10,000 acres as of Aug. 16, including five acres on the northwest corner of Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The fire is estimated to have started between Aug. 14 and the morning of Aug. 15.

Base fire personnel and civil engineers kept a close eye on the fire as it approached the base from the northwest throughout the day Aug. 15. Around 5 p.m., firefighters started a back fire, which is a small fire deliberately set to help slow the progress of a larger fire, to create a fire break along the base perimeter road.

At 7:20 p.m., Stacey Maples, the base fire chief, declared the fire contained and was stopped from encroaching any further onto the base.

"The unified effort of base and local fire fighters was an amazing accomplishment," said Maples. "It goes to show the resources we each bring to the fight. I want to personally thank the crews from the Bureau of Land Management, City of Mountain Home and Grand View for their efforts."

Those unified efforts lead to only one small building containing navigation equipment on the airfield sustaining minor damage. No other damage was reported except for the five acres of brush and grass, laid to waste by the fire.

More than 40 vehicles and nearly 90 firefighters from the base, the city of Mountain Home and Grand View fire departments, along with the Bureau of Land Management, worked together to fight the grass fire, dubbed "The Squaw Fire."

As a safety precaution, flightline activity, to include all flying operations, was stopped and personnel were ordered to evacuate from buildings along the flightline shortly after the Mountain Home AFB firefighters started the back fire. At no time was there any danger to the Mountain Home Family Housing areas. By 8:30 p.m. the order was given for personnel to return to work. Local flying operations resumed with the first scheduled take off at 1:40 p.m., Aug. 16. According to flying operations personnel at the 391st and 428th Fighter Squadrons, a total of eight flights were cancelled Monday night due to the fire.

The minimum impact on flying operations and the combined efforts of fire crews on and off base did not go unnoticed by wing leadership.

"Our Gunfighters on the fire line did an outstanding job creating a fire break and stopping the fire from coming further on to the base," said Col. Ron Buckley, 366th Fighter Wing commander. "Their fast action, along with the outstanding efforts of firefighters from The City of Mountain Home, Grand View and the BLM, truly showed the team work and expertise we have in battling fires in southwest Idaho."