Idaho fire laid bare remnants of Oregon Trail ruts

BOISE — A wildfire that destroyed nine homes and damaged 10 others in southeast Boise last month also revealed remnants of the Oregon Trail.

Members of the Idaho Chapter of the Oregon-California Trails Association plan to mark portions of the pioneer trail that are now visible after the Aug. 25 fire.

Before the blaze, two parallel pathways measuring about a half-mile altogether had been covered by tall brush. The paths, which are light depressions in the ground, stretch across a vacant field below a ridge where the homes were burned.

The pathways were discovered in satellite photographs taken days after the fire.

"We plan to mark it before the snow flies," association member Wally Meyer told The Idaho Statesman.

He said the last wagon through southeast Boise probably crossed the flat plain about 1890 on the property now owned by the Idaho Power Co., which is negotiating with the group to allow signs along the newly found pathways.

Investigators have concluded that an equipment failure on one of the company's electricity lines ignited the fire.

Meyer said that in the 1970s, he unsuccessfully tried to save the section of the Oregon Trail where the subdivision was built.

Meyer said the recent discovery is not a major surprise given what's known about the Oregon Trail's route through Boise.

"Nobody's ever really looked before," Meyer told The Associated Press. "But the Oregon Trail is always easy to find after a fire."