Heather Hayes woke up early Friday morning, with notifications and texts rolling in.
Hayes, the community science and outreach coordinator for the Intermountain Bird Observatory, assumed the texts were about an owl species she’d asked staff to tell her about if caught. But instead, they were about the Valley Fire that had started earlier in the morning. And over her line of sight over the hillside, Hayes could see the flames.
“It was a surreal experience,” Hayes said. “I’ve been up there when I’ve seen fires before, but to see this one move so quickly was just something like I’d never witnessed.”
That day, there were 19 fifth-grade students and seven chaperones from Riverstone International School up at the Lucky Peak station for their annual trip. They’d arrived the day before and had slept overnight.
Everyone jumped into action, Hayes said.
Derek Wright, the outdoor education coordinator for Riverstone, was also woken up early. He hiked up to the top of the peak and saw the fire “glowing red” in between him and the lights of Boise