A chain-link fence dragging from a pick-up truck turned into a mobile fire starter on Saturday as the combination touched off 19 small fires on a rural highway in southwestern Idaho.



The scenario seems improbable: A truck traveling along State Highway 52 between Horseshoe Bend and the rural hamlet of Montour had a chain link fence stuck to its bed. It's late July, of course, so the grass and vegetation along the side of the road is naturally tinder-dry. Put the two together and you have the recipe for multiple roadside fires.



The Bureau of Land Management, the federal agency that manages much of the territory along the roughly 15-mile route, says all the fires were put out by 2 p.m. An investigation continues. No structures were burned.

