In brief: FireSmart offers home safety tips
Rural property owners can learn how to protect their homes from wildfires at a Thursday demonstration put on by Kootenai County’s FireSmart program.
The open house runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 29882 N. Stampede Road in Athol. Topics covered include defensible space around buildings, fire-resistant building materials, landscaping safety and road access.
Parking spaces are limited, so carpooling is recommended.
For more information, contact project manager Larry Isenberg at (208) 661-5457.
Playfield cleanup cost $2.2 million
Federal and state governments spent $2.2 million to clean up a youth sports complex as part of Superfund work in Idaho’s Silver Valley.
The work at Sather football field in Silverton should be finished by Friday, just in time for Wallace High School to play rivals from Harrison, said Terry Harwood, executive director of the Basin Environmental Improvement Commission.
The three-year project included removing soil laced with heavy metals from Sather field, an adjacent Little League field and contaminated areas around Wellman baseball field.
The Environmental Protection Agency funded 90 percent of the work, with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality chipping in 10 percent.
Cause of wolf pup deaths unknown
Six dead wolf pups have been discovered on national forest land in south-central Idaho, state officials announced Tuesday.
Idaho Fish and Game officers found the partially decomposed wolves Friday north of the rural community of Fairfield, which is about 45 miles southwest of Sun Valley Ski Resort.
Preliminary necropsies were performed, but the cause of death is still unknown. Additional test results are forthcoming, officials said.
Anyone with information should call the Citizens Against Poaching hot line at (800) 632-5999.
Air Force reserve unit going to Iraq
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. – Forty Air Force reservists are scheduled to deploy by the end of the month from McChord Air Force Base to Iraq.
The Air Force says members of the 446th Civil Engineer Squadron will be integrated with other units and perform basic maintenance, such as repairing electrical and plumbing fixtures. They’ll also train Iraqis and turn over operations next spring.
Most of the reservists in the squadron are from Washington and Oregon.