Juliaetta evacuated as Gwen Fire consumes 20,000 acres
Jul. 26—The "Gwen Fire" prompted evacuations near Juliaetta, Idaho, and has remained unchanged as of Friday.
The fire is located south of Juliaetta and 30 miles outside Lewiston near state Highway 3. It's west of the town, Myrtle, along the Clearwater River. As of Friday morning the fire had reached 20,000 acres, according to the Idaho Department of Lands.
Residents were advised to stay clear since the fire is relatively close to the city.
The entire town of Juliaetta was evacuated Wednesday. The city of Kendrick has not been evacuated as of Friday, the department said. Strong winds "pushed the fire" further Thursday, prompting an "all hands on deck" response, the Latah County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post.
Resources on the fire include dozers, water scoopers, helicopters, planes and fire engines.
Other immediate evacuations are south of U.S. Highway 12, reaching South Tom Beall Road. Everywhere south of that road is in level two evacuations, meaning "be set."
The evacuation remains in effect for the town Friday as well as the area south of Juliaetta, according to the Latah County Sheriff's Office.
Multiple structures were lost over the last two days in Nez Perce County. The Nez Perce County Fairgrounds, the Asotin County Fairgrounds and the Latah County Fairgrounds have shelters set up and are available to house livestock for those that had to evacuate.
