Large fire burns at Idaho Youth Ranch warehouse on Boise Bench: significant damage to donated merchandise

The Idaho Youth Ranch warehouse on Irving St. in Boise went up in flames Monday afternoon.

The fire was reported around 1:45 p.m. and plumes of smoke were visible throughout the Treasure Valley. Seven engines, three ladder trucks, and ambulances responded. According to the Boise Fire Department, no injuries were reported initially, but it’s possible some firefighters could have heat-related injuries.

“Due to the temperature outside, we know a lot of times firefighters will struggle with heat-related injuries,” said Aaron Hummel with Boise Fire. “So, we did upgrade this to the third alarm.”

IYR Vice President of Communications Jeff Myers tells BoiseDev that the fire appears to have started in the outlet yard.

“Someone noticed it and informed staff who then proceeded to follow our evacuation plans and evacuate both the store and office buildings,” Myers said.

Myers added that all the merchandise on pallets outside in the outlet yard is a total loss. He said it’s unclear if any items inside the warehouse will be able to be salvaged because they don’t know the extent of the damage.

“Sometimes we have up to a year’s worth of goods, sorted, tagged and ready for sale in there,” Myers said. “And so we don’t know whether it’s damaged by fire, or smoke, or if there were sprinklers that went off and it’s all ruined by water. It’s too early to say.”

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. Fire crews were able to keep the blaze contained to the Idaho Youth Ranch campus and will be on scene throughout the night.

“We have to kind of proceed slowly and cautiously before we put people in a bad spot,” said Hummel. “So, it’s going to take probably forklifts and a bit of time to sift through all this and make sure it’s completely out. I would guess probably into maybe even tomorrow.”