Fire threatens dozens of homes
Brisk winds fanned a new wildfire across about 5,000 acres of sagebrush Tuesday night, threatening dozens of homes, condos and mobile homes and leading authorities to evacuate as many as 300 people, a Grant County official said.
The fire, pushed by 25 mph winds with higher gusts, was reported burning in Grant and Douglas counties. State firefighters were mobilized late Tuesday.
The blaze threatened a dozen homes on Stuhlmiller Road, where it was first reported; about a dozen houses in the tiny community of Trinidad, about five miles west of Quincy; 300 residences and condos in the Crescent Bar area near the Columbia River; and 30 to 40 mobile homes on Mansfield Road, said Sam Lorenz, Grant County emergency management director.
State Highway 28 near the fire was temporarily closed late Tuesday because of poor visibility.
Washington, D.C.
Off-roaders object to Smokey ads
A group that advocates motorized recreation is asking the Forest Service to withdraw a public service ad featuring Smokey Bear. The group says the ad sends the wrong message that riders operating off-road vehicles in a legal manner can start forest fires.
In the ad, Smokey Bear tells two ATV riders not to start their vehicles in a national forest. “ATVs give off sparks. You could start a wildfire,” Smokey tells them. As the men apologize and push their vehicles away, a narrator warns that nine out of 10 wildfires are caused by humans.
The BlueRibbon Coalition, an Idaho-based group that advocates for off-road vehicles, called the ad misleading and unfair.
“Smokey Bear is inappropriately telling members of the motorized trail community that the best way for them to prevent wildfires is to just stay home,” said Don Amador, the group’s Western representative.
Joe Walsh, a spokesman for the Forest Service, said the agency was aware of the complaints and apologized for any confusion. The ads are under review, he said.
SEATTLE
‘Spam king’ sent to prison
A Seattle man once known as the “spam king” has been sentenced to three years and 11 months in prison for mail fraud, e-mail fraud and tax evasion.
Robert Alan Soloway was arrested last summer. Prosecutors said he made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling so-called “broadcast e-mail services” and used networks of compromised computers to send out millions upon millions of junk e-mails.
U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman issued the sentence Tuesday. She will hold a hearing later to determine how much restitution Soloway must pay.
BOISE
Sali’s FEC filing to be examined
The Federal Election Commission plans a “routine process” to determine the root of U.S. Rep. Bill Sali’s problems filing his latest campaign finance report on the agency’s Web site.
Sali, a Republican from Kuna who is running against Democrat Walt Minnick, missed a July 15 deadline.
His staff cited problems with a data file when asked why it was unable to post the material for public scrutiny.
Sali spokesman Wayne Hoffmann says the data file has been fixed, but the campaign is still entering the data.
FEC spokesman Bob Biersack the process will scrutinize whether the filing challenges were linked to problems with the FEC’s computer system, or problems that originated with Sali’s campaign.