UPDATE: Emergency Operations Center standing down for range fire at INL site
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UPDATE:
A range fire at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory site has been completely surrounded by a fire break using bulldozers, the Idaho National Laboratory said in a news release Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. The Joint Information Center has been deactivated and will not be staffed overnight.
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IDAHO FALLS — Firefighters are working to contain a small wildfire near the northern boundary of the Idaho National Laboratory’s desert site.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s INL Emergency Operations Center was activated Wednesday in response to the fire.
INL and Bureau of Land Management firefighters are currently battling a 150-acre blaze in the Birch Creek area east of Idaho Highway 22, near mile marker 35. Lightning was reported to have ignited sagebrush and grass.
Thunderstorms and high winds are expected to continue in the area, according to an INL emergency notification.
As a precaution, personnel in the area were evacuated, but there is no danger to the public.
EastIdahoNews.com will update this article if more details are released.