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Inferno destroys homes, takes life
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“My house … it’s ashes, it’s gone,” one stunned Boise State student said moments after he watched his home burn to the ground. “Everything I own is gone.”
The deadly grass fire, beginning near Amity and Holcomb roads in southeast Boise, destroyed 10 homes, damaged another nine and took the life of one Treasure Valley educator Monday evening.
The Boise Fire Department could not identify the cause of the fire at a Tuesday afternoon press conference. Officials ruled out arson early in the investigation.
BFD Fire Chief Dennis Doan said weather conditions Monday contributed greatly to the speed and intensity of the flames.
“We had a red flag warning with winds of over 50 miles an hour,” Doan said. “We had hot, dry conditions … and all that combined it was amazing that we kept this to only 19 houses that were affected.”
Although investigators have not identified the cause as electrical, the brushfire began around 7 p.m. near an Idaho Power grid below Sweetwater Drive. Doan said the fire moved swiftly up the side of the canyon where it ignited homes in the Oregon Trail Heights subdivision.
“The winds were really strong, and for a time there we weren’t sure if the fire would spread to entire neighborhoods,” Boise State professor Larry McNeil, who witnessed the blaze, said. “Homes seemed to literally explode in fire.”
The BFD issued a general alarm, which means every Boise firefighter must respond. Fifteen engines, 45 units and 225 firefighters arrived at the scene after the alarm was issued. The Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell and North Ada County fire departments also responded, as well as the Ada County Sheriff, Bureau of Land Management and Boise Police Department.
Seventeen police officers, including five from Meridian, were hospitalized for smoke inhalation Monday night.
“We know that officers helped to evacuate over 50 homes last night,” BPD Chief of Police Michael Masterson said. “We know lives were saved because of their efforts, the efforts of other emergency responders and the Boise Fire Department.”
Due to the swiftness and sheer size of the blaze, residents of Sweetwater Drive and the surrounding neighborhood had mere minutes to evacuate.
“A neighbor knocked on the door and told us a fire was headed up the hill towards our house and I just reacted,” the Boise State communication major, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “I went straight to my room and grabbed my computer and I could see the flames engulf the patio right outside my bedroom window. I went back to push my dirt bike out of the garage and when I was one block away my brother’s car exploded. It happened so fast. In a matter of minutes the whole house was ashes.”
Masterson and Doan both applauded the efforts of area police and fire departments for the speedy evacuation.
“To have this type of magnitude of a fire and have one casualty speaks a lot for the type of dangers our firefighters and police officers are willing to put themselves in to help protect lives,” Masterson said Tuesday.
The single casualty of Monday’s inferno has been identified as Boise State linguistics professor Mary Ellen Ryder. Ryder’s husband, Peter, told KTVB he ran outdoors to see what was happening, and the house was engulfed in flames before he could find Mary Ellen. Her body was found on the second floor of their Immigrant Pass Drive home.
Several other Boise State students and faculty lost their homes in the fire. The Red Cross: Idaho Disaster Relief Fund will accept donations until Sept. 3 via canisters at the Student Union Information Desk, on the first floor of the Administration Building and in the Parking and Transportation office. Clothing and linens can be dropped at the same locations for distribution by BFD’s Boise Burn Out Fund.
Staff members David Carrillo, Megan Greco, Jenny McBride, Shannon Morgan and Colby Stream contributed to this article.
Charlotte Taylor
