MERIDIAN, Idaho — About five acres burned today near Harris Street and South Meridian Road.
The fire started around noon. Meridian and Kuna fire departments put it out just 30 minutes later. After the fire started, flames moved through grass toward the South East.
The area that burned is close to several neighborhoods. Kristian Forbey, Meridian Fire battalion chief, said concrete sidewalks helped slow the spread by curbing flames and keeping them away from houses.
In dry and hot conditions, grass fires can start in the blink of an eye. While the cause of this fire is still being investigated, he said mowing is often to blame for these types of fires.
“They can make contact with rocks and create sparks, then that can cause a fire in an [agricultural] setting like this,” he said. “It can also happen in a residential setting with the standard lawn contacting some rocks and creating sparks.”
Fortunately – Forbey said we did not have strong winds today like the last couple days. If the winds were stronger, this fire could have been a lot more difficult to fight.
Forbey said he expects to fight several more brush fires throughout the rest of the summer. Just last week, their crew worked with other agencies on another fire in Kuna. That fire burned almost two-thousand acres.
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