MURTAUGH, Idaho — A fast-moving fire broke out at an equipment repair and salvage yard in rural Cassia County just after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.
"Units from Rock Creek quickly got updates that the fire was spreading very rapidly," Chief Aaron Zent of Rock Creek Fire Protection District said.
The yard housed tractors, a variety of small and large equipment, and was filled with dried grasses and vegetation that had grown in among the machinery.
Rock Creek Rural Fire Protection District requested additional support from Cassia County, Oakley and the Bureau of Land Management.
WATCH: Fire crews work to control spread of salvage yard fire
The location backs up to the South Hills and sits on the way to Cottonwood Wildlife Management Area, making the potential for the fire to spread significant.
"We're really to that extreme level of fire danger right now, Zent said. "If we get a fire, we anticipate rapid fire growth and extreme fire behavior, so just fire burning hotter and faster."
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The fire was called in early enough that crews were able to make good progress.
However, several small outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, as well as a larger potato storage-type building.
"Progression is stopped on the south side of the fire, which was probably our main objective. There's a lot of equipment and pieces of machinery that we're gonna have to extinguish. It's gonna take a lot of effort and time," Zent said.
Zent emphasized that fire danger will continue to be high for much of the summer, with high temperatures and dry fuels across the area.
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