While driving from our house in the Wood River Valley to our cabin in the Sawtooth Valley I noticed a large plume of smoke appear near the cabin. As I approached Stanley the plume of smoke got bigger and darker. Angle and distance can always prove to be deceiving but the fire looked to be extremely close to where we live. As I turned left onto state highway 21 in Stanley a state trooper zoomed past me towards the fire. I followed the patrol car directly.
The fire now looked to be only a couple of drainages from our cabin. The patrol car – with me right behind – came upon the fire. US Forest Service staff were running away from the fire towards patrol car. It was a wild few minutes. Our stopping point was a road that leads to my friend Gary O’Malley’s home. Gary soon approached with everything he could collect from his home as the fire was moving swiftly in his direction.
The next few minutes, hours and days would prove to be hectic. The story as it appears in the Idaho Mountain Express is located [here].
