1,600 homes evacuated as wildfire burns near tony Idaho resort communities

8/16/2013

BOISE, Idaho — Sheriff deputies in Idaho are ordering more homeowners to clear out of the way of a wind-driven wildfire burning near the resort community of Sun Valley.

The Blaine County Sheriff Department has now issued a mandatory evacuation order covering 1,600 homes in the region.

It comes as the 100-square-mile Beaver Creek fire burns through sage and pine trees in the mountains and foothills west of the towns of Hailey and Ketchum in central Idaho.

The fire has also prompted managers at the Sun Valley Ski Resort to turn on water cannons across the ski hill to protect lodges and chairlifts.

More than 600 firefighters are battling the blaze in the affluent resort region that serves as a second home to celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Hanks.