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Investigators say fireworks sparked wildfire near Table Rock

BOISE -- Investigators confirmed that fireworks sparked a blaze that charred more than 2,600 acres and destroyed a home and an outbuilding near Table Rock.

Boise resident Taylor Kemp said he saw the fire start when he went up to Table Rock Wednesday night to take photographs of the storm.

"There were people up there shooting off fireworks - mortars, the ones that will go up in the air," he said.

As he watched, one of the fireworks tipped over and shot into the dry field, setting it on fire, he said.

"As soon as it happened, they booked it," he said.

Kemp said he immediately called the fire department to report the flames and tried to put the fire out, but it quickly spread out of control.

No arrests have been made, and it's unclear whether suspects have been identified.

The blaze began at about midnight, and threatened hundreds of homes in the Boise Foothills.

The fire was 100 percent contained by about 10 p.m. Thursday.

A wind shift and change in humidity aided firefighters as they work to get the fire under control, and the flames are no longer moving toward homes, according to fire officials. Crews used bulldozers to construct fire line, halting the fire that backed down the ridge toward the Harris Ranch subdivision.

Fire officials say residents are not in immediate danger, and no mandatory evacuations are in place.

BLM fire information officer Brandon Hampton said crews are "actively engaged" in getting a handle on the fire. The fire is still not 100 percent contained, he said, but most of the active flames have been knocked down, and crews are now focusing on mop-up.

Warm Springs Avenue, Table Rock Road, Shaw Mountain Road, Wildhorse Lane and other roads were closed in the area.

Boise Fire tweeted around 1:30 p.m. that Warm Springs Avenue was open to traffic again.

The gated entrance to Table Rock will be closed through July 5 due to public safety and to allow crews to assess damage to the trails and the site.

No one was injured in the fire. BLM officials originally said four structures burned; Boise Fire Chief Dennis Doan later revised that number to two.

The family whose home was destroyed will get help from the Red Cross and the Burnout Fund, Doan said.

Doan said air support is expected to arrive around 8 a.m.

"They're going to be dipping into the river, so we need floaters to beware," he said.

The fire chief also asked people not to fly drones over the fire. Getting a bird's eye view of the damage was not worth risking fire crews having to ground the planes and helicopters working to halt the flames, he said.

"If even one drone gets in the air, all air assets will have to stop, so we really need people not to be flying anything like that around here," he said.

Dale Kerner and his family, who live off of Windsong Drive, decided to evacuate at about 2:30 a.m. after watching the fire move closer and closer.

"The flames were coming over the hill over Table Rock, and they seemed to be advancing rapidly, so we figured [leaving] was probably for the best," he said.

Kerner praised the fast response from fire crews, and said he hoped they could keep flames away from is house.

"We've certainly seen fires, but we've never been this close to one," he said. "I've never seen it move this quickly."

Dawn Green, who lives at 3735 East Barber Drive, said she watched flames scorching a neighbor's home.

"It's surrounded by fire right now," she said.

Green said the fire has burned up over the ridge toward Warm Springs Mesa.

"When we first woke up, there were huge flames," she said. "All the trees in the foothills right in front of us are gone, completely."

Boise Fire, Boise Police, Bureau of Land Management, Eagle Fire, Meridian Fire, and Star Fire crews responded to the fire with 11 engines, ten brush trucks a bulldozer and three water tenders.

Former KTVB anchor Carolyn Holly said she could also see the flames moving from her home on Fothergill Street.

"I just heard two or three huge explosions and I'm seeing big, big billowing black smoke going into the air," she said. "I've seen fire crews stage on top of Table Rock for a long time, and right now that fire is moving up the hill toward Table Rock, also moving down toward the city as well."

The Ada County Sheriff's Office has determined the fire started on the north side of Table Rock Road, right by the gate near the top of the plateau.

Anyone with information should call Ada County detectives at 577-3723 or email cau@adaweb.net.

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