Riverstone International School has been going to the Intermountain Bird Observatory ran by Boise State for around a decade. This camping field trip is a favorite of the children.
The kids spend Thursday night banding owls and having a great time, but on Friday morning they woke up to a surprise as the Valley Fire sparked at 4:00 a.m.
At 5:45 Derek Wright, the Outdoor and Service Learning Coordinator got a call. He hiked up to the top of the ridge and that's where he saw the fire.
"I couldn’t see anything from where we were camped because we were on the backside of Lucky Peak," said Wright. "I hiked up to the top of Lucky Peak and I got a good view of just this orange bright glow."
Derek came back to camp to wake up 19 5th graders, four parents and two other chaperones that were with the school. Everybody worked together to pack up all their gear.
“I was really transparent with the kids and told them a fire was on the side of the mountain," said Wright. "I was really proud to see them work together and come together to pack up the tents, they started helping each other."
Riverstone International School left the observatory at 7:30 a.m. with five vehicles, but they had to drive down Highland Road and through the fire. They ran into firefighters with the BLM who escorted them out and that helped the kids feel safe.
"You could feel the heat from the flames that were about 30 to 40 yards away," said Wright. "Seeing the BLM working to get those flames out and create a containment line was really cool to see up close and I think it was a really good educational opportunity for the kids."
Wildfires have impacted the Riverstone International School this summer as they had to cancel backpacking trips in the Sawtooths and move them to the Wallowas. Wildfire is something they prepare for and Wright told us the kids were resilient.
The parents were also pleased to pick up their kids from the school even though the leaders of the trip had to figure out a way to get back there with road closure on Warm Springs, but they made it.
"The parents were really grateful that we got the kids down in a timely manner," said Wright. "I’m just really proud of how they came together as 5th graders. They are 10 and 11-years-old and they are experiencing this, they did a great job."
We also talked with the Intermountain Bird Observatory who is celebrating their 30th anniversary. The people up there grabbed all the lure birds and everything else they could get to throw in vehicles before they safely made it down the mountain.
I've been told the raptor trapping section burned down, but there is no official word on the other areas of the station. Wright told us the 3D targets at the archery range also burned.
