Woman killed in fiery canyon crash identified
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MCCAMMON — The woman who died in a fiery car crash southwest of McCammon late Monday night has been identified.
The Bannock County Sheriff’s Office reported that Debbie Hainline, 55, of McCammon, died after her car careened off a rural road and down a steep canyon.
Authorities believe Hainline was killed when her car struck the bottom of the canyon off Goodenough Road and exploded into flames. Those flames then caused a wildfire.
Firefighters estimated Tuesday the size of the fire at about 5.5 acres — much lower than the estimate provided late Monday night by authorities that the blaze was 60 acres in size.
The Bannock County Sheriff’s Office said one house was threatened by the fire, but firefighters knocked down the flames heading toward the home before any damage was caused.
Authorities are still investigating how Hainline’s car ended up at the bottom of the 90-foot deep canyon.
The Sheriff’s Office first learned about the incident around 10:20 p.m. Monday when a resident who lives near the canyon southwest of McCammon reported the wildfire.
Responding firefighters and deputies spotted Hainline’s car burning at the bottom of the canyon. They were not sure at that time if anyone was inside the vehicle.
The wildfire kept emergency responders from being able to access Hainline’s car and locate her body until early Tuesday morning when Bannock County Search and Rescue personnel rappelled down to the bottom of the canyon.
Firefighters from McCammon, Inkom, Lava Hot Springs, Downey and the Bureau of Land Management responded to the wildfire and had it extinguished by early Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters had the fire contained by about 2 a.m. Tuesday.
{span style=”font-size: 12px;”}Authorities have not reported any fire-related damage to structures, evacuations or injuries other than the fatality related to the incident.{/span}
The Sheriff’s Office reported that as of 11:30 a.m. Tuesday Hainline’s fire-gutted car was still at the bottom of the canyon and it’s unclear how authorities are going to be able to remove the vehicle.
This article was originally published in the the Idaho State Journal. It is used here with permission.