A fire that started in a barn Sunday night burned 76 acres of the Lewiston Hill and was considered 50% contained Monday evening, according to the Idaho Department of Lands.
What is being called the Hatwai Fire started in some hay in a barn along 38th Street North, then spread to the hillside at about 11 p.m. Sunday, according to a news release from the Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office. Crews from Nez Perce County Fire, Nez Perce Tribe Fire Management and the Idaho Department of Lands responded. The fire threatened 10 to 20 homes, according to IDL, but no homes were lost. By Monday morning, two to five homes remained threatened. No evacuation was ordered.
IDL Fire’s Teakean Hand Crew arrived Monday and extinguished smoldering heavy fuels and performed checks for fire heat at the black edge of the burned fire area. A structure and outbuilding were still threatened by the fire, and hot, dry, windy conditions are expect to persist in the area over the next few days.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. (Lewiston Tribune)
