Fast-moving wildfire erupts near Shay Hill
More firefighters are expected to arrive in St. Maries today to battle a fast-moving wildfire that burned an estimated 200 acres and prompted evacuations from homes in the Shay Hill area.
No houses have burned, but at least 35 were threatened, according to reports from the fire lines.
Nearly 50 firefighters were on the scene Friday evening, while seven airplanes and two helicopters dropped retardant and water on the flames until sunset, said Gary Weber with the Coeur d’Alene Interagency Dispatch Center.
Smoke from the fire could be seen from Coeur d’Alene, 30 miles to the north. Strong winds fanned the flames late in the afternoon, but the wind died down by 7 p.m.
Shay Hill is a hilly, heavily timbered area about six miles west of St. Maries. The fire was reported Friday at 3:10 p.m. and grew to 100 acres within two hours, officials said. It was burning timber and logging slash on private land, Weber said. The cause is not yet known, he said.
The Benewah County Sheriff’s Department ordered the evacuation of several homes. Deputies went door-to-door to alert residents to the threat. Evacuees were directed to elementary school and high school gyms in St. Maries.
– Staff reports
Coeur d’Alene
Cruise participants ‘belligerent’ to police
Police say people on a lake cruise for a Spokane radio station hampered the investigation of a possible drowning Thursday night.
The Kootenai County sheriff’s marine deputies and dive team responded about 9:30 p.m. to a person-overboard call on the north end of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Initial reports indicated someone may have jumped off a cruise boat.
The cruise was sponsored by radio station 92.9 KZZU, according to sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Higgins.
“One of the bartenders heard a big splash and saw something white in the water,” Higgins said. The bartender told the captain, who called for help.
Three fire boats and three sheriff’s patrol boats searched, Higgins said. Six divers also were called out but never got in the water.
Many people on the boat were intoxicated and “belligerent,” Higgins said. They refused to answer questions and wouldn’t cooperate when authorities tried to do a head count as people got off the boat at Independence Point.
Boat crews counted 295 getting on the boat, but the head count of those getting off was 304.
“Hopefully it was a chair or some other item that went off the boat and it wasn’t a person,” Higgins said. “At this point, we don’t know.”
– Taryn Brodwater
Outdoor festivities continue today
One of the biggest outdoor parties of the year in the Lake City continues this weekend.
Art on the Green, A Taste of the Coeur d’Alenes and the Downtown Street Fair began Friday and resume this morning.
The anchor festival is Art on the Green, a major fundraiser for the visual and performing arts in Coeur d’Alene. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday on the North Idaho College campus.
A Taste of the Coeur d’Alenes is 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday in City Park. It features 25 food booths with a variety of cuisine choices, plus more than 100 artists and crafters along the park’s Centennial Trail.
The Downtown Street Fair is 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday on Sherman Avenue. As a result, Sherman is closed to traffic until 6:30 p.m. Sunday, between Second and Seventh streets. Third and Fourth streets will be open for north-south crosstown traffic.
Parking is available in the city parking lot south of Sherman on Front Avenue. Free shuttle bus service connects all three locations every 15 minutes.
Today at 5 p.m., a sculpture will be dedicated to one of the founders of Art on the Green, Patrick Flammia, who died last summer.
– Staff reports