Over 1000 tires set ablaze in Wendell

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Crews were called to a fire south of Wendell at roughly 12:24 p.m. The fire occurring near the intersection of 1800 East and 3100 South.

Wendell Fire Chief Bob Bailey says the fire was preventable, but nothing out of the ordinary.

“We had a controlled burn get out of control, caught the tire pile that is behind us on fire, somewhere in the area of 1000-2000 tires,” says Bailey. “We don’t have the exact count yet. But nothing out of the ordinary, a controlled burn got crazy and created a pretty good black smoke column that was seen from Twin Falls and surrounding areas.”

According to Chief Bailey, the resident was notified by letter about a year ago, of the dangers of the large tire pile being so close to the location of a controlled burn.

Wendell Rural Fire Department is made up of predominantly volunteers. Bailey spoke of their commitment to their community.

“Yeah, it’s contained now. We’ve probably got another 2 hours of mop up making sure it’s out,” says Bailey. “None of this could actually happen without all the volunteers, everyone out here is a volunteer, and we just couldn’t do this without volunteer support.”

The Wendell Rural Fire Department received assistance from both the Hagerman and Gooding Fire Departments.

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