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STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK PHOTOS BY JAMES PARIS Residents who live on the east side of Highway 75 between Lake Creek Road and Eagle Creek Road were asked at 5 p.m. Sunday evening to start gathering important items and maintain situational awareness for a potential evacuation due to a wildfire in the canyon above. The fire spread from .01 acre to 175 between the time it was reported at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28, and 5:30 p.m. despite multiple air drops from helicopters and the work of multiple fire crews on the scene.
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James Paris took this photo of the fire shortly after it started.
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Dr. Rich Paris said his son James Paris reported the fire after spotting it while recreating north of Ketchum. Initial reports were that it was started by a camper burning cardboard despite gusty afternoon winds. But that has not been confirmed. The National Interagency Fire Center estimated it to be 50 acres by 3:30 p.m. and 175 acres by 5:30 p.m. Peggy Dean said she could see the smoke from her home in Hulen Meadows. All day users were evacuated from Rock and Roll Trail and the trail in Taylor Canyon, as well as the picnic and pond areas within the first couple hours. The area is six miles north of Ketchum with multi-million homes located between it and the highway.
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The fire spread rapidly in dry sagebrush and gusty winds.
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Helicopters equipped with water buckets dangling underneath could be seen flying from the vicinity of Hailey to the scene. Even as they did, dark clouds amassed to the northwest. The fire had grown to 300 acres by 8 p.m., still actively burning as night settled in, sending a putrid smell of smoke over Ketchum.
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