The devastating fire in Southeast Boise last week revealed a remnant of the Oregon Trail that had been overgrown with sagebrush and cheat grass.

Members of an Oregon Trail preservation group learned Monday that they will be able to mark these sections that are now visible on Idaho Power Co. property below the subdivision. The white posts with the words "Oregon Trail" will alert hikers to the historic significance and help wildland firefighters avoid vestiges of the trail.

"We plan to mark it before the snow flies," said Wally Meyer, a member of the Idaho Chapter of the Oregon-California Trails Association.

He estimated that the last wagon through Southeast Boise probably crossed the flat plain on Idaho Power property around 1890.

Power poles dot the landscape, but with satellite imagery, the outline of two sets of swales can be seen.

"We are happy to help with this historic effort," said Idaho Power spokeswoman Anne Alenskis.

The Aug. 25 fire in the Oregon Trail Heights subdivision destroyed nine homes and damaged 10 others. Fire investigators said a small clamp on an Idaho Power electrical line melted, dripping aluminum hot enough to ignite the dry grass below, and high winds whipped the fire into the nearby subdivision.

A historic ramp, also clearly visible after the Oregon Trail Fire, connects Sweetwater Drive in Oregon Trail Heights with the plain. Ada County owns that property.

"The ramp that comes down over the hill looks good now," said IOCTA preservation officer Jim McGill. "It would be nice to get some Carsonite markers out there before the weeds grow back"

Carsonite is a brand of fiberglass boundary markers.

The ramp, Meyer said, was likely dug by hand. He would like to see bitterbrush planted to stabilize the hillside and an informational placard at the top of the ramp to give the public a sense of the area's history.

In the early 1970s, Meyer said, he unsuccessfully lobbied to save the section of the emigrant route that is now covered by the neighborhood.

Meyer marked about 150 miles of emigrant trail remnants on public land between Hagerman and Parma during his 30-year career with the Bureau of Land Management.

The white Carsonite posts are easily visible to hikers and to BLM firefighters from the air, Meyer said.

The trails association has a volunteer agreement with the BLM to maintain the markers and monitor the trails on public land in southern Idaho, Meyer said.

Bethann Stewart: 377-6393