Idaho prohibits many campfires
No more campfires will be allowed in state parks or Forest Service campgrounds in North Idaho, starting tonight at midnight – not even in developed fire structures
That strict “Stage 2” fire restriction, already in effect in the southern part of the state, bans all open fires.
“You can still do like a Coleman stove, with the liquid gas, or a propane-fired stove,” said David White, North Region manager for Idaho State Parks. “But no campfires, no briquets, none of those fun things.”
Gail West, spokeswoman for the Panhandle National Forests, said the same restrictions are taking effect tonight in Forest Service campgrounds. “There’s no open campfires allowed anywhere,” she said.
White said it has been several years since North Idaho campgrounds imposed such strict no-campfire restrictions. Typically, the restrictions cause some campers to cancel trips, but most persevere.
“I’ve seen them actually take their lantern and stick it in the middle of their fire ring and turn it down low and sit around it,” he said. Once, at Priest Lake, he saw a group bring in a homemade mock-fire with fake flames and a light. “They sat around that at night.”
North Idaho state parks are all on the water, so they’ve continued to draw crowds due to hot weather, White said. “We have lots of trees and water up here, which still keeps people coming.”
Victoria, B.C.
Polygamists won’t face charges
No charges will be filed against members of a British Columbia polygamist community, but the province may determine the validity of the law against multiple marriages by referring it to the British Columbia Court of Appeal, provincial Attorney General Wally Oppal said Wednesday.
Oppal said he has reviewed a report by special prosecutor Richard Peck and agrees no charges should proceed against members of a fundamentalist Mormon sect in Bountiful, British Columbia.
He said the government could find no witnesses on the sexual assault allegations because investigators were told that all consented to the acts that took place.
More serious allegations of sexual exploitation of young women also could not be substantiated, Oppal said.
He said he was surprised by the number of young women who told the police that they were the aggressors and wanted to have sex with the older men.
Oppal says Peck has recommended referring the case to the Court of Appeal to determine the validity of the province’s polygamy law. He said it is an issue that relates to the equality of women and that he personally believes the law against multiple marriages is valid.