Lightning Strike Ignites Wildfire in Idaho

HAVRE (AP) -- More than 140 firefighters were working Thursday to contain a lighting-caused blaze that had burned about 800 acres in southern Blaine County, officials said.

The fire, burning mostly on Bureau of Land Management land, apparently began Tuesday night during a lightning storm, said Craig Flentie, spokesman with agency's Lewistown office.

It made several short, wind-driven runs Thursday afternoon.

``There is very little private land involved and the fire is moving in a southeasterly direction, pushing it even farther into BLM land,'' he said.

Fire crews from the BLM, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Forest Service were fighting the fire, along with a number of state and private firefighters, Flentie said.

Fire crews responded to the fire Wednesday morning after a BLM employee working in the area reported seeking smoke, Flentie said.