At least 1,500 Sun Valley-area homes are under mandatory evacuations Saturday morning. The Beaver Creek fire has jumped from 100-square-miles to about 140-square-miles. It continues to threaten the resort towns of Ketchum, Sun Valley, and Hailey.
Kimberlee Kruesi has been covering this fire for the Times-News in Twin Falls. “You can see the fire jumping from ridge to ridge,” she explained. Winds up to 30-miles-an-hour sent embers flying ahead of the blaze and sparking new ground.
A steady stream of traffic headed south on Highway 75 Friday as hundreds of people evacuated. The highway closed for more than an hour as the flames inched closer and the smoke turned too thick to see.
“If you can get out, get out,” said a worried Holly Carter, Blaine County sheriff’s assistant. “We’re talking about saving lives here.” Before the highway reopened, people headed north toward Ketchum were being turned back. Drivers in Lexuses there were screaming at deputies. ~ The Times-News
Kruesi says as people left the valley, crews were headed in to help fight back flames. “I left the [fire] camp around 10:30 last night and hotshot crews from all over the nation were piling in.”
There are nearly 700 firefighters currently working the Beaver Creek Fire. That number is expected to double Saturday. The Beaver Creek Fire remains a top priority for the country. That means as firefighters and gear finish up at other fires around the West, they will come to the Wood River Valley.
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