Fire officials report good progress being made on the Cape Horn fire burning close to the town of Bayview Idaho. The fire is now considered 35% contained, and officials have actually downgraded the estimated size of the fire from 2,000 to 1,380 acres.
Fire information officer Jay Kirschner says officials escorted some of the evacuees from Cape Horn to their property on Wednesday morning.
Kirschner: “They want to do thing like clean out their refrigerator or get medications or something they had forgotten. There’s just something about being able to see your home and see what you are dealing with."
Kirschner says they are allowing residents of Bayview to leave and return to town, but are turning away anyone else, including those who may have boats moored at the marina there:
Kirschner: “A large part of that is for security, unfortunately there is people who will see this and don’t have the best intentions. So we want to make sure the place is secure for the people there and those who were evacuated."
Kirschner says the conditions in Bayview have improved to the point that many senior staff members are using the town as a home base. He says they are hoping they can soon lift evacuation notices for many of those residents who have homes on Cape Horn.
