Updated 10/4/2023 at 4:50
According to Idaho power, there are no active flames in the batteries, and the situation is still being monitored. Roads will remain closed until 8 a.m. on Thursday, at which time the situation will be re-evaluated.
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According to Canyon County, a Battery fire burning at an Idaho Power substation south of Melba won't be out until at least Wednesday.
RELATED | Battery Fire at Idaho Power Substation in Melba
Idaho Power and Canyon County have closed roads in Melba in order to keep people away from the active fire, authorities say putting it out manually isn’t much of an option.
"With fires of this nature, the recommended response is to allow the fire to burn out completely,” wrote Joe Decker, the communications director for the Canyon County Sheriff’s office, in a press release.
Those living near the substation say they experienced all of it.
“We got a phone call from a by-passer that happens to know us and they said you’ve got a fire going on,” Chanall Astle, who lives near the fire, told Idaho News 6. "We of course got up, got with the neighbors and called Idaho power.”
She spoke with Idaho News 6 Monday night.
Astle says that Idaho Power and Canyon County were very helpful during the fire.
“Regional manager (was) out here this morning,” Astle said. "She was fabulous, she offered to put us up in Hotels. My parents live behind us, they’re a little bit older so they did go ahead and leave the premises.”
Canyon County says preliminary air quality testing of the site shows promising signs.
"Those preliminary results indicate the total concentration of the substances measured did not exceed what would normally be measured in the area," Decker said.
