In brief: Apartment fire forces evacuations
Spokane fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of a blaze that broke out at a three-story apartment building on North Monroe Street that forced almost 40 residents to evacuate late Saturday.
There were no injuries.
The fire started in a room on the third floor of 1221 N. Monroe St. about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, officials said in a news release. When fire crews arrived at the apartment, they found heavy smoke in the building. The crews shut off the gas line to the building and didn’t turn it back on until Sunday morning.
The American Red Cross helped 10 families find accommodations for the night and provided food for them Sunday morning.
Fire officials said the damage was contained to one apartment.
Forty-two firefighters were called out to the blaze.
Clark Fork, Idaho
Some forest roads won’t be repaired
The U.S. Forest Service says a North Idaho valley prone to flooding combined with a lack of money makes it impossible to completely restore the network of roads that once existed in the popular recreation area.
The Forest Service earlier this month released its plan for rebuilding roads in the Lightning Creek drainage.
A fall flood in 2006 hammered the valley and washed out or undercut 30 miles of roads.
The 75,000-acre drainage is one of the wettest in the state and contains a fault line that makes it susceptible to landslides.
The Forest Service plan calls for rebuilding about 13 miles of road and obliterating 53 miles of road, nearly all of which is already impassible or closed.
The Forest Service also wants to convert 16 miles of road into non-motorized trail.
Boise
Simplot’s hat still missing
A spokesman for the J.R. Simplot Co. said family members are saddened no one has returned the signature cowboy hat that once belonged to the family patriarch.
The hat disappeared from atop a floral centerpiece on stage during a memorial service for the business and political icon held in downtown Boise in June.
J.R. Simplot died May 25 at the age of 99, leaving behind a fortune estimated at $3.6 billion.
He is credited with making Idaho potatoes a household name and supplying frozen french fries to fast-food giant McDonald’s.
Simplot Co. spokesman Rick Phillips said the hat was a gift to Simplot and one of his favorites.
He said family members are resigned to the hat’s disappearance because there’s not much they can do.