Claremont Fire reaches 4,800 acres as evacuations hit Boise County

The Claremont Fire burning in the Foothills grew to roughly 4,800 acres by Wednesday morning, officials said, leading to an evacuation order for part of Boise County.

In a statement posted online Wednesday morning, the U.S. Wildland Fire Service wrote that firefighters had made “significant progress” against the Claremont Fire overnight, with an estimated containment date of July 12.

The announcement came just hours after the Boise County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday evening that areas around Rocky Canyon were being ordered to evacuate.

The Red Cross was working to set up a shelter for evacuees at the Eagle Christian Church in Boise’s Surprise Valley area, located at 4601 S. Surprise Way, the Sheriff’s Office added.

Firefighters first responded to reports of a wildfire near Claremont Drive on Monday afternoon. The blaze quickly grew to thousands of acres by the following day, drawing an escalating response from emergency services.

Public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management were ordered closed from Monday evening through Saturday, and hiking trails in the Boise Foothills were cleared shortly after the fire started.

The cause of the Claremont Fire remains under investigation, though Chad Cline, the Bureau of Land Management’s fire information officer, told the Idaho Statesman Tuesday that the blaze is likely “human-caused.”