Two fires were quickly extinguished by the Thayne Volunteer Fire Department this week.

The first fire occurred Tuesday, September 2, at roughly 2:30 p.m. inside Etna Trading Company. Tedd Jenkins, Thayne Fire Chief, said an electric motor caught fire in the back of the store. Jenkins, who was first on scene, put out the fire using a nearby fire extinguisher that was already in the building.

“This could have been a bad situation, but thankfully they had a working fire extinguisher in an appropriate location,” said Jenkins.

The second fire occurred on Wednesday, September 3, at roughly 1:00 p.m. when a 911 call was placed for a brush fire in Bedford. Local residents said they heard an explosion type sound and saw sparks falling from a power pole. The sparks ignited the dry grass and a fire quickly began to spread into dry grass and brush, threating a nearby home. As firefighters were responding, local neighbors jumped in to help control the fire. Upon arrival, firefighters were able to contain the fire before it reached any structures and spread through the extremely dry grass fields, containing it to roughly two acres in size.

Shortly after the fire in Bedford was contained, firefighters rushed to a nearby power pole a few hundred yards to the west. The power pole had caught fire, spreading down to the grass below. Firefighters already on site extinguished the fire with only a small area of grass being burned. Crews with Lower Valley Energy were also on site to make the necessary repairs following the fire.

Chief Jenkins reminds residents that despite recent wet weather last week in Star Valley, conditions still remain extremely dry and fires can start easily and spread quickly. Fire restrictions remain in effect in Lincoln County, the Bridger-Teton National Forest and BLM land.

Photos by SVI Media/Duke Dance