EAGLE -- Firefighters are still on the scene of the homes that were destroyed by fire near Eagle Wednesday.
Our crews on the scene say the burned area is still smoking.
The pictures taken are of two of the homes destroyed on Skyline Drive.
What started out as a small wildfire near Highway 16 Wednesday afternoon, blew up into a massive one that destroys three homes and charred more than 4,850 acres in the Eagle foothills.
Afternoon winds whipped up the fire that forced hundreds to evacuate their homes and move their horses and other animals to safety.
Investigators believe lightning caused the fire, because thunderstorms moved through the area before it started.
Ada County commissioners have issued a disaster declaration, declaring the area affected by the wildfire a county disaster. That allows the county to access emergency resources now and in the coming days.
Residents returned to the homes today to assess the damage and begin picking up the pieces of their lives. One of the worse areas hit was along Skyline Drive where all that’s left of several homes is a pile of rubble.
Crews were out in that area this morning working to make sure that hot spots do not flare up.
Jen Martinez lives near the burned down homes. She said the flames and smoke came upon their home very fast. They had to scramble to gather up the horses and valuables before police made them evacuate.
She said a lot of people were coming and going into the neighborhood, but the smoke made it very hard to navigate. The face of her neighborhood has completely changed in just one day.
“It’s just scary looking. It’s surreal. You look out, you see it, but it’s not really registering that this really happened. It doesn’t look right,” said Martinez.
Martinez is now face with the prospective of a lot of cleanup work, while other ponder where to rebuild their homes.
