James Hagengruber

In most election years, the Bonner County assessor's race might carry the same political heat as the dog catcher or coroner's race. Not this year. Not with property valuations reaching stratospheric levels and not after the massive tug-of-war over how those values were determined. The race is at the epicenter of a huge property tax fight being waged in Bonner County.

The fate of a proposed luxury golf community on the southeastern shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene will be decided today by Kootenai County commissioners. If commissioners approve a zoning change for the land above Powderhorn Bay, upward of 1,300 new homes could be built. Much of the land is zoned for agricultural and timber uses, but the developer wants the land classified as rural, which would allow more houses to be built.

Law officers are finding more damage from a string of drive-by shootings Monday night. Police originally believed six shots had hit houses, businesses and cars, but at least five more bullet holes were discovered Wednesday, according to information from the Post Falls Police Department and the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office. There were no reports of injuries caused by the shootings, which are believed to have taken place between 8 and 9 p.m. Monday between Idaho Street and state Highway 41, and Seltice and Mullan roads. Additional damage was found along Greensferry Road between Wyoming and 16th avenues.

A dam nearly as big as Grand Coulee could be built in coming years to store water on Hawk Creek – a tributary of Lake Roosevelt – as part of a plan to bring more water to increasingly parched portions of Washington. The Hawk Creek storage dam in Lincoln County is one of four being considered by state and federal officials. Other sites include Foster Creek in Douglas County and Sand Hollow and Crab Creek, both in Grant County.

About 1,000 acres of mountaintop forest west of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, will be set ablaze Thursday in hopes of slowing the widespread collapse of a high-alpine tree species. Because the whitebark pine trees grow only in the highest, rockiest reaches of the Inland Northwest, only hikers and serious backcountry adventurers tend to encounter them. Fat-laden seeds found in the evergreens' cones have been a critical food source for grizzly bears and some birds.

Tuesday's sneak preview of autumn rain sapped strength from wildfires across the region and raised hopes that many closed hunting and hiking trails could be open again by the weekend. Although the rain showers were spotty – the gauge at Spokane International Airport had less than a tenth of an inch by late Tuesday afternoon – the slow-moving storm dumped more than an inch of rain on portions of the bone-dry forest in North Idaho.

Firefighters are pinning their hopes on Thursday. That's when cool, rainy weather is expected to deliver a knockout punch to several tenacious wildfires that have been burning across the Inland Northwest for nearly a month.

BONNERS FERRY, Idaho – In 1968, Jean Plato and her husband bought farmland along the banks of the Kootenai River. Although the river was notorious for its springtime floods, the soil was rich and a massive new dam was being built upstream in Montana. "We thought we'd never be threatened," Plato said.

A fast-moving wildfire forced the evacuation of at least 10 houses Tuesday afternoon eight miles north of Moscow, Idaho. The homes are located in the area of 1330 Cheney Road, near Viola, a small community along U.S. Highway 95 between Potlatch and Moscow, according to Detective Jennifer McFarland, with the Latah County Sheriff's Department.

A remote North Idaho creek valley that's home to some of the most unique gemstones in the world has recently been reopened for public scavenging. The U.S. Forest Service had temporarily closed the Emerald Creek Garnet area to make changes aimed at improving public safety and keeping the water clear for trout.

Kootenai County Commission Chairman Gus Johnson moved into the vacant office of the county's building and planning department director Wednesday. County officials have been trying to fill the position for two months, since longtime director Rand Wichman quit to start a private consulting business.