A drone grounded emergency aircraft from fighting the Sawtell Peak Fire on Thursday.

The Sawtell Peak Fire erupted on Wednesday and is expected to continue through the weekend. 

The Sawtell Peak Fire erupted on Wednesday and is expected to continue through the weekend.

A drone grounded emergency aircraft from fighting the Sawtell Peak Fire on Thursday.

The Sawtell Peak Fire erupted on Wednesday and is expected to continue through the weekend. 

The Sawtell Peak Fire erupted on Wednesday and is expected to continue through the weekend.

A drone grounded airplanes attempting to put out the Sawtell Peak Fire around noon Thursday.

The drone was spotted flying over the Sawtell Peak Fire, said Jon Carnill of the U.S. Caribou-Targhee Fire Management office.

“When people fly drones over the fire, all airplanes have to be grounded until the air space is cleared,” he said. “If you fly, we can’t.”

Carnill said that only one aircraft, an “Air Attack Plane” remains in the sky. It was the aircraft that spotted the drone. He says it’s not unusual for people to launch drones over fires as flames often create stunning photography.

“It happens a lot more than you think,” he said. “We’ve had several fires where that’s happened. I don’t really know what they were doing. Who knows? They could be taking pictures.”

It will be up to area law enforcement to deal with the drone’s operator. Once the drone is no longer deemed a threat, firefighting airplanes will take to the skies again to continue fighting the fire.

Fremont County Sheriff Len Humphries said that the Sawtell Peak Fire drone would be the first that the sheriff’s office would have dealt with — if the perpetrator is found.

“We have very few fires in Island Park,” Humphries “The last time we had a fire, drone technology wasn’t to a point that it was even a concern. We’ve never arrested one (a drone operator).”

According to the Caribou-Targhee National Forest Facebook page, the Sawtell Peak Fire had consumed nearly 30 acres by Thursday afternoon. It described the fire as “smoldering, creeping, torching and short-range spotting.”

Island Park Fire Chief Nathanael Brandemihl said the fire started around 1:20 p.m. Wednesday.

“At this point we don’t know what started it,” he said. “We haven’t had any lightning or storms in quite a while.”

Brandemihl noted that there are no roads or paths on the mountain, but he speculated that the fire might have resulted from some hunting in the region.

Since the fire started, 15 Island Park Fire Department firefighters have fought the flames. They’ve also relied on six fire trucks. The U.S. Forest Service Fire Department as well as the Bureau of Land Management firefighters have helped.

Airplanes and helicopters from Pocatello and Boise have helped quench the fire by dumping water and retardant onto the flames, Brandemihl said.

“We’ve had a couple of scoopers, scooping up water out of Henry’s Lake,” he said.

No one has been injured and no evacuations have been ordered due to the fire. And, while no property has been damaged, flames have gotten close to some sheds, Brandemihl said.

Brandemihl hasn’t noticed any wildlife on the mountain other than some sheep grazing at a significant distance higher up on the mountain.

“The sheep didn’t seem too worried about the fire. They were being mellow,” he said.

Brandemihl said that while the mountain is a bit dry in places, there are still plenty of green spots here and there on Sawtell Mountain.

“We’re kind of shocked that it even happened to begin with. It’s not that dry,” he said.

Brandemihl expected the fire to continue through Sunday.

“It will probably burn through the weekend,” he said.

As more information is made available, the Standard Journal will update this story.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Search the complete digital archives for all papers in the Pioneer News Group.

Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.

Check your email for details.

Invalid password or account does not exist

Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.

An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.

Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.

A receipt was sent to your email.