LAPWAI, Idaho (CBS 2) — An Idaho woman's vehicle that caught fire ignited a nearly 100-acre wildfire in northern Idaho.
"As soon as I saw the field was on fire, and I didn't know if homes were going to be burning down, I just thought, 'Oh my God, this is my fault, my car's burning,'" Jessica Kittell of Bonners Ferry told KLEW in Lewiston.
Kittell was on her way home when her car started having engine trouble in the area of Barley Lane and Sneath Road. Lapwai resident Joseph Goff pulled over and offered to take a look at Kittell’s car at his brother's house nearby.
But the car caught fire before they could make it.
In what seemed like an instant, the flames turned into a wildfire that spread across 96 acres in Lapwai.
"It was just sparking everywhere,” Kittell says. “It happened so fast. It was so fast, everything was in flames within five minutes. Honestly, it was so scary."
Goff and Kittell were able to get to safety but the incident left them both shaken.
"I was helpless,” Goff says. “I felt helpless because we couldn't even get out so we were just stuck right here."
Nez Perce Tribe Forestry and Fire was called to the scene at around 4:30 p.m. they were joined by fire crews from Lapwai and Nez Perce County as well as Lewiston medics, the Nez Perce county sheriff's department, helicoptors, jumpers and planes.
"We currently have everything we can in the region to try and help out and contain this fire to this canyon area,” said Incident Commander Kip Kemak on Saturday.
Kemak says the fire threatened structures for a short time but their fast response prevented any damage to homes. Their next goal was stopping the flames from getting into heavier brush and canyon trees.
"It'll get into the heavy trees and then it'll start throwing embers into the air and those embers will fly out ahead of the fire and start fires out in front, he says.”
Kittell’s car is a total loss and she lost her paycheck and several of her possessions in the blaze. Two power poles in the area also caught fire and will need to be replaced.
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