Two big wildfires likely sparked by Monday’s thunderstorms continue to burn an hour east of Boise.
The smaller of the two fires is the Sand Point Fire. Firefighters have successfully held containment lines of the roughly 7,800 acre blaze and kept it from threatening structures. It’s burning about three miles south of Hammett. Emergency responders expect to have the Sand Point Fire contained by this evening.
Further away, ten miles south of Hammett, is the Centennial Fire. Burning through grass and brush, the fire is estimated to be approaching 19,000 acres. Hand crews and bulldozers are getting support from the air with a helicopter to battle the flames.
Bryan Henry, a meteorologist at the Boise-based National Interagency Fire Center, says conditions for fires are improving.
“We are expecting there to be an above normal fire potential out there for July and August across the lower and middle elevations, in the grasses.”
Next week, highs are forecasted to be at or near triple digits in Hammett.
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