A motorist drives past the Gwen fire on Highway 3 outside of Juliaetta, Idaho on Thursday, July 25, 2024. Multiple communities in Idaho have been evacuated after lightning strikes sparked fast-moving wildfires. (William Howard via AP)

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — William Howard went to the north-central Idaho town of Juliaetta on Thursday to help a friend after a lightning-sparked wildfire began tearing through the friend's property, using barrels of water in an effort to extinguish “hot spots” on the land.

But in the 15 minutes it took to refill the barrels, the wind-whipped flames engulfed the area.

A harrowing video, shot by Howard as he fled in his vehicle, shows tall flames surrounding both sides of the road on the outskirts of town. A mobile home and several vehicles are burning on one side of the road. On the other, trees and brush are covered in flames.

Billows of black and gray smoke obscure the view on all sides, at times dropping the visibility to several feet ahead. A break in the smoke shows a fence line burning and several large, round hay bales stacked a short distance away.

William’s mother La-Nora Howard, who talked to him afterward and posted the video to Facebook, wrote that he heard propane tanks and ammunition exploding as he drove away. Howard agreed to share the video with The Associated Press but declined to be interviewed.

The video is one of many social media posts from Thursday and Friday showing flames consuming the normally idyllic farm and forest lands surrounding a series of small towns along the Potlatch and Clearwater Rivers. Juliaetta and other communities in the area were evacuated Thursday, around the same time as Howard's video.

Idaho Department of Lands spokeswoman Robbie Johnson says several structures have burned in the complex of fires that sparked after a thunderstorm passed through Wednesday night. It's too soon to know exactly how many because fire crews at the scene have not had the time to count, she said.

“They’re really focused on getting the people out, getting the animals, and hoping to stop the fire in its tracks,” Johnson said Friday morning.

Latah County deputies used loudspeakers and went door-to-door in Juliaetta to tell people to evacuate, and residents were sent emergency text messages while agencies posted the evacuation notices on social media, said Latah County Deputy Riley Harkins. The main highway out of town was flanked by flames while evacuation efforts continued Thursday night, Harkins said.

The Latah County Fairgrounds was serving as an emergency shelter, housing people and livestock displaced by the blaze.

News from © The Associated Press, 2024