Department of Energy’s Emergency Operations Center is gathering information about a reported wildland fire at the Idaho Site

Event Summary: DOE's EOC gathering info about reported wildfire at Idaho site.

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06 August 2020

11:45 AM

Emergency response terminated for wildfire at INL desert Site

The wildfire on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site is fully contained. The INL emergency response has been terminated. INL and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) crews will continue to monitor until the fire is extinguished.

New information:

  • The wildfire has burned an estimated 910 acres.

Background:

  • The fire is located near mile marker 259, adjacent to the rest stop on U.S. Highway 26, and roughly a mile northeast of the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC), operated by Fluor Idaho.
  • RWMC and all INL Site facilities are operating normally.

Information previously reported:

  • Seven fire trucks responded to the fire, four from INL and three from BLM.
  • Four bulldozers responded, two each from INL and BLM.
  • State, county, and tribal officials have been notified.

INL’s emergency Joint Information Center at the Engineering Research Office Building, 2525 Fremont Ave., Idaho Falls, is no longer activated. Media and members of the public should contact their regular INL and Fluor Idaho contacts.

 

06 August 2020

10:00 AM

INL, BLM fire crews working to contain fire at INL Site

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) fire crews are working to contain a wildfire, which has burned approximately 1,500 acres on the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) INL site.

The fire is located southwest of U.S. Highway 26, near mile marker 259 – adjacent to the rest stop – and roughly a mile northeast of DOE’s Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC), which is operated by Fluor, Idaho.

The fire is 50 percent contained. It’s estimated the fire will be fully contained by Thursday evening.

All facilities at the INL Site have large fire buffer zones around their perimeters.

The DOE Idaho Operations Office, INL and Fluor, Idaho leadership are working together to ensure the safety of staff at facilities on the site. RWMC and all other INL Site facilities are currently operating normally.

New information:

  • Seven fire trucks have responded to the fire, four from INL and three from BLM.
  • Four bulldozers have responded, two each from INL and BLM.

Information previously reported:

  • INL emergency responders are responding to the incident.
  • State, county, and tribal officials have been notified.

Please note that INL is the only source of verified information about this event. Information reported by unofficial sources may be incomplete or inaccurate.

INL’s emergency Joint Information Center at the Engineering Research Office Building, 2525 Fremont Ave., Idaho Falls, has been activated to respond to any questions you may have about this incident. Media and members of the public should call the phone numbers below, not your regular INL contacts.

Media Information: (208) 526-9206. Please do not call other INL contacts.

Public Information: (208) 526-5042

Follow-up news releases will be posted on INL’s website at: http://www.inl.gov/.

 

Original Release

INL News Release

Date: August 6, 2020

Time: 6:00 a.m.

#1

Department of Energy’s Emergency Operations Center is gathering information about a reported wildland fire at the Idaho Site.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has been activated and is gathering information about a reported wildland fire at the desert Site.

When events such as this are reported, DOE activates its EOC as a standard practice to gather information and coordinate site-wide incident responders, as needed. This news release is being issued to alert you of the reported incident and the EOC activation. Based on the information obtained so far, there is no risk to the public.

INL personnel are responding to investigate the incident; and state, county and tribal officials are being notified. News release updates will be issued when more information is available. Additional details on the nature of the incident and a preliminary impact assessment will be provided to the media and the public as soon as they are available and confirmed.

Please note that INL is the only source of verified information about this event. Information reported by unofficial sources may be incomplete or inaccurate.

INL’s emergency Joint Information Center at the Engineering Research Office Building, 2525 Fremont Ave., Idaho Falls, has been activated to respond to any questions you may have about this incident. Media and members of the public should call the phone numbers below, not your regular INL contacts.

Media Information: (208) 526-9206 Please do not call other INL contacts

Public Information: (208) 526-5042

Follow-up news releases will be posted on INL’s Web site at: http://www.inl.gov/

Contact

  • o Media Information:

  • 208-526-9206

  • o Public Information:

  • 208-526-5042