Happy New Year Sun Valley 2009!

In my 2008 New Year’s message I wrote that I was “very optimistic” looking forward to this year and that there “would be changes and that change can be good.” All of that rang true during the year. I am pleased to report that we had a very good year in Sun Valley despite the poor economy. 

2008 was a very good year for our City as we made positive changes in how we do business. We are realizing the potential of how good we can be on many fronts. Our finances, staff and spirit are stronger than ever and we are dedicated to bringing the best government possible to the citizens of Sun Valley. Through these turbulent economic times it is vitally important for us to stay a steady course and not upset a boat that is sailing quite well. 

Our will was tested in many ways during the year, and each time it made us take a close look at ourselves, our operations and how we serve the people. It renewed our commitment to provide the highest level of professional service at the most reasonable cost to the taxpayers. 

Our City’s finances are sound and we have perhaps the most fiscally responsible budget in the entire valley. The City is well positioned to weather the economic storm that is lashing our economy. We have a lean, dedicated staff of hard working individuals who are very efficient at operating in a complex resort environment. We are focused on taking care of our core infrastructure to make sure it doesn’t crumble to the detriment of our health, safety and welfare. I have been working directly with some of our key outside contractors, like the Chamber of Commerce, Mountain Rides and Sustain Blaine, to ensure that our investment with them pays the best returns to our City. We continue to seek solutions to regional issues such as consolidated dispatch, housing and the airport, where working together is vitally important. And, we have become fully transparent in how we operate our City government – an accomplishment of which I am truly proud. 

Looking ahead to 2009 I will continue to see that we focus on the basics of good government – responsible care of our tax dollars, respect for each other’s property rights, and an absolute commitment to open and transparent government. I will add to my focus list this coming year, my long held goal of securing a second, redundant high-voltage power transmission line to our end of the valley from Hailey. This weakness in our critical infrastructure is a major risk to our community from a life/safety perspective and a serious threat to our economy. I will also continue my efforts to seek sustainable economic development solutions that can capitalize on opportunities to add vitality by increasing our full-time population which in turn strengthens our tourism economy. It is good to see that there is growing support for sustainable economic development. 

I greatly appreciate all the feedback, thoughts and comments you have given me this past year. It has been invaluable in helping me represent you on the City Council. 

It is an honor to serve you. 

My best wishes to you, your family and friends for a healthy and happy 2009. 

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A Special New Year’s Story

(Dennis Patterson, Carey Fire Chief  – December 20, 2008)

On rare occasion I get the opportunity as a Councilman to experience a special moment when my soul is deeply touched. On Saturday, December 20, 2008 I was lucky to experience one of those special events. 

Earlier this year the Sun Valley Fire Department needed to upgrade its 26 year old fire engine to meet the growing needs in Sun Valley. We determined that it made sense to give that old engine to the Carey Fire Department who can make good use of it. Well, on Saturday the 20th of December, we finally delivered the old engine to Carey. The Mayor and I went along with Chief Carnes and two of our firemen for the handover. You can’t begin to imagine how happy the entire crew in Carey was to receive our old engine. Their eyes were beaming and the smiles were from ear to ear. It was the most genuine show of appreciation I have seen in ages. That act of kindness on the part of the Sun Valley Fire Department was absolutely overwhelming. It nearly brought tears to the eyes of some of the toughest firefighters we have up and down this valley. I was proud to be there to represent the citizens of Sun Valley as our City helped out our fellow citizens in Carey. 

Reporter Karen Bossick captured the day in this story she wrote for the Twin Falls Times-News. 

I had my camera along and shot some pictures of the occasion. Here is a short slideshow of the handover. I thnk you can get a feel for the happiness in the smiles of everyone present.

Proposition 2 – Consolidated Dispatch Funding – Not This Way

There are circumstances where consolidation of government services makes complete sense. Emergency dispatch is one of them, and we should all support it. How we fund it is another matter. 

The allocation of dispatch service costs, based on call volume, is straightforward. A person has to take that call. If someone calls 911 to report a fire in Sun Valley, it costs the same to process it through the dispatch center as a 911 call for a fire in Hailey. That is why the user group, which included representatives of all cities, endorsed the concept of funding dispatch salaries based on a percentage of usage. 

Now along comes another alternative, at the request of the City of Hailey, which has two significant problems that have received little attention. 

First, this ballot measure is an additional new tax on the taxpayers of each city and the County. It will be an incremental increase in the County budget of approximately 4% each year, above what is already being spent by the County on dispatch. The $835,000 proposed to be raised each year from this levy alone is more than 10% of Blaine County’s annual property tax collections.  The City of Sun Valley has supported the emergency dispatch center out of its existing city budget for years. 

Second, this override levy will allocate the dispatch costs based solely on the assessed value of your property. If it passes, that 911 call to report a fire in Sun Valley will cost Sun Valley taxpayers $48.65 while that 911 call for a fire in Hailey will cost Hailey taxpayers $8.64 (that is not a typo). If you live in Ketchum the call will cost $28.12 and if you live in the County, outside a city, the same call will cost County taxpayers $28.26. 

It is hard to find fairness or equity in that plan for anyone, especially when an easily traceable cost allocation system, based on usage, already exists. Now is not the time to be raising new taxes and increasing the County budget at the expense of struggling businesses and property taxpayers.

Some see the passage of this Proposition as a quick and simplistic solution. In reality there are many complicated issues which must be addressed, including long-term funding, cost control, joint powers agreements, and governance. Mediation, which the City of Sun Valley has requested, could offer potential solutions to these issues. My hope is that if Proposition 2 fails, a sincere mediation process will find long term solutions that won’t raise our taxes and will make the consolidated dispatch center a shining example of regional cooperation. 

Vote NO on Proposition 2 on Tuesday, November 4th.

Here are links to two stories concerning the Sun Valley City Council’s action on the consolidated dispatch issue:

Idaho Mountain Express  9-24-08 – Sun Valley seeks outside help

SunValleyOnline  9-23-08 – Sun Valley rejects dispatch payment change

Sun Valley City Council Meeting the Week of 9/22/08

We have one Special City Council meeting in Sun Valley the week of September 22nd.

On Monday, September 22, 2008 at 4:00 pm we have a Special Council meeting to discuss a proposed “Memorandum of Understanding for Blaine County Emergency Communications Fiscal Year 2008-2009 Interim Funding” and related proposed County-wide referendum on a county tax override levy.

I was interviewed by reporter Jason Kauffman of the Idaho Mountain Express earlier this week on the subject of consolidated dispatch funding. You can read his story and my comments at this link.

To see the Agenda and the County Commissioner’s proposed Memorandum of Understanding for the 9-22-08 special meeting, click here.

You can also listen to this or any other Council meeting live, or later on the internet at this link.

You can always see the full Council schedule and additional information at my website.

Planning for Future Power Needs in the Sun Valley Area – Final Report

The Community Advisory Committee which has worked with Idaho Power to develop a “Wood River Electrical Plan” over the past year has finished its final report and will present it to the public this coming Wednesday evening in Hailey. The meeting will start at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Campus auditorium with a presentation on the recommendation and will follow with an open house.

As I have stated in my previous reports on this process, the purpose of the project is to create a clear and documented electrical energy plan to serve the load needs of the Wood River Valley from now through build out of the valley. Our goal was to make sure the report is clear and concise – something that will make sense to the public in terms of need, reliability, redundancy, cost, and protection of view corridors. You can read our Final Report by clicking here, and get the Appendices by clicking here.

The challenge of course, and of particular interest for the people I represent, is getting reliable sources of power into the upper Wood River Valley where it is heavily used to support the tourism and second home industry. With only one 138 kV transmission line serving this end of the valley from Hailey, reliability is a major concern, especially during the peak winter season. As the use of electrical power continues to increase with housing and hotel growth, expanded snowmaking, chairlifts and gondolas, so does the need for an additional transmission line. Because we value the beauty of our area, there are visual considerations which we must take into account as well. All of these factors went into the Committee’s recommendation which is to follow Highway 75 along the existing right-of-way to Ketchum.

It was felt that the visual impacts of a new 138 kV transmission line from Hailey to Ketchum can be minimized to the largest extent in this highway corridor as opposed to running it along steep hillsides and ridgelines. This route provides many options for underground or above ground lines or combinations of both. It is also good to know that such a line does not have to be like the massive structures of the existing Hailey to Ketchum transmission line.  Here are a couple photo renderings of what some above ground options might look like along Highway 75 near East Fork Road, with a picture of the existing distribution line for comparison (note that “distribution” circuits are those which bring power to your neighborhoods and homes and “transmission” circuits are the ones which move power from city to city):

The meeting this Wednesday, March 12, 2008, in Hailey is just the beginning of a public process which will give all of us the opportunity to weigh in on how and when this plan may eventually be implemented.

My seven previous reports on the WREP are available here (#7), here (#6), here (#5), here (#4), here (#3), here (#2), and here (#1).

As always, I will continue to report on the progress of this plan and you can also follow it at the Wood River Electrical Plan website provided by Idaho Power. The website has a great deal of information, including copies of all the presentations and minutes of our meetings.

USGS Water Study Presentation 1/23/08

Last month I wrote on the progress of the USGS water study underway here in the Wood River Valley (click here to read that blog). Two public meetings have now been scheduled for this coming week to discuss the results of the first phase of the project.

Both meetings will be held on Wednesday, January 23, 2008. The first meeting will be in the Ketchum City Hall Council Chamber room at Noon. The second meeting will be at 6:00 p.m. in the upstairs meeting room at the old Courthouse Building in Hailey. Click here to read the Blaine County press release announcing the meetings.  

Technology and the Environment

To kick off the New Year, I was thinking today about how we could do some positive things in the City of Sun Valley to improve our environmental image in the resort world. Right or wrong in the grading, the poor ranking the Sun Valley Resort has received the past two years from the Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition has probably not helped the tourism business for the valley from the growing number of environmentally conscious travelers which we so heavily depend on in this highly competitive business.

The Sun Valley City Council began 2007 by passing a Resolution adopting the U.S. Conference of Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement. That was a big step for our City, but the remainder of the year showed little follow through. Our neighbor Hailey was very successful in preparing and implementing a climate protection plan as this story by Gary Stivers at SunValleyOnline shows. I am hoping Hailey’s leadership will rub off on us and others.

Our local economy is significantly tied to the climate – both in the winter and summer. The warmer it gets, the shorter the ski seasons are becoming, and the larger the forest fires are becoming, the harder they are to fight and the longer they last. Both have already had impacts on our tourist visits. Our major competitors are taking significant strides to do something about protecting the climate (see Vail, Aspen, Park City, Jackson Hole). Even the little ski area in Montana where I learned to ski as a kid, Lost Trail Powder Mountain, runs its operations on biodiesel. Our neighbor to the south, Nevada and in particular the tourist mecca of Las Vegas has been finding out that clean energy and sustainable development pays off as well, especially in down real estate markets, as this story tells. It’s time for action in Sun Valley, not more studies, talk, finger crossing, wishful thinking or denial.

Being involved in various technology businesses, I thought about the marriage of tech and the environment. In my research I came across a website/blog called “EcoGeek.” They have a great site with ideas, insight and links to a resource of practical information. As they say, “EcoGeek devotes its pages to exploring the symbiosis between nature and technology.”

A story EcoGeek did the other day titled “7 Technologies that will Save the Earth in 2008” caught my attention. It has some very practical ideas and thoughts that can help improve our lives while also making sure that we don’t mess up the Earth at the same time. Give it a look.

Hopefully, the City of Sun Valley has the political will necessary to do the right things to make certain our local economy is strong long into the future by ensuring that our environment is also strong.

Clean Water for a Healthy Community

For the past year and a half the City of Sun Valley has been involved in a regional project to get a grasp on the water quantity and quality of the Wood River Valley. I am pleased to be involved in this important project. Earlier this week the U.S. Geological Survey issued its report on the first phase of the project.

With the growth we are seeing in Sun Valley and the entire Wood River Valley, we are obviously deeply concerned about the supply of clean water in the area. This comprehensive study is underway in cooperation with the USGS, local governments, private landowners and NGOs to assess ground and surface water quality and quantity. The goal is to provide local governments with information so we can make informed decisions about land and water resource management.

On March 16, 2006 the Sun Valley City Council voted to participate in this valley-wide study to assess ground and surface water quality and quantity by approving a financial commitment to the first phase of the study. All local governments and several other entities including the Sun Valley Water & Sewer District, Blaine County Citizens for Smart Growth, The Nature Conservancy, and Blaine Soil Conservation District have committed funds to for first phase of the study in cooperation with the USGS. The first phase was completed in late 2007 and the official report from the USGS was issued this month.

To download and read the official USGS report on the first phase, click here.

I also have a link to the USGS website that has more information on the upper Big Wood River work plan. You can click here to go to that website.

The water study is ongoing and the City of Sun Valley has committed to continue to be involved in that effort. I will keep you posted on the progress here on my blog and at this page on my website.

Hailey Airport Replacement EIS

At the urging of several community leaders, I made it a point to attend numerous meetings over the past two years concerning Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey and its potential replacement. It has always been very important to me to learn firsthand about critical issues. This is one of them and I am glad I did because it has serious regional consequences for all of us in the Wood River Valley.

I have been amazed by some of the more off-base comments on the airport relocation issue made by several candidates in recent local elections. If only they had taken a little time to get an understanding of the facts.

In response to recent misrepresentations and misinformation that are being spread to the public, members of the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority (FMAA) have been trying to help the community understand the reality of the situation which has been made worse by some of these uninformed individuals.

At the Blaine Regional Leadership Council meeting held on October 24, 2007, Martha Burke, Chair of FMAA gave an excellent overview of the FAA – Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process which is now underway. I attended that meeting. The only reporter present to cover it was Gary Stivers from SunValleyOnline. He did a first-rate job reporting on that discussion. Click here to read his story.

Two of the constant complaints from opponents of moving the airport is that there will not be an economic analysis of the potential new sites and that the new airport will cost the local taxpayers millions and millions of dollars in new taxes through bond issues. Neither of these have ever been the case. As FMAA Manager (and Mayor of Carey) Rick Baird has repeatedly said, “No taxpayer money will be necessary based on the feasibility study that has already been done. Look at the Report.” That seems to be a constant problem; most folks just won’t take the time to read the reports. Click here to read the reports.

Everyone has yet another opportunity to tell the FAA what they would like addressed in the EIS study of the various potential sites for a new airport. They will be here December 3rd and 4th to conduct public scoping for the EIS (which does include an economic analysis – it had been planned for inclusion). The FAA is truly interested in hearing the full range of significant issues the community would like to see addressed. This is our opportunity to be heard. Gary Stivers wrote another story about the EIS scoping meetings. Click here to read that story.

Personally, after spending two years learning the airport relocation issues, I am in favor of finding a location that will provide for a weather reliable year-round, topographically safe airport, capable of growing to handle much larger commercial aircraft in complete compliance with FAA safety rules. It needs to be readily convenient to mass ground transit and reasonably located so that it is economically viable and successful for all communities in Blaine County. Without it, we will never sustain or grow a viable tourist, second home and entrepreneurial economy.

My biggest concern is that those who are using a multiplicity of tactics to cause delays in quickly moving forward the development of a future viable airport may actually be responsible for significant future failures in our tourism based economy. We can hardly afford to lose our current commercial air service, what little there is. There is barely a person I know who lives here now that won’t drive to Boise, Twin Falls or Salt Lake to seek out reliable, cost efficient choices in air service anymore. When the locals start losing faith in our commercial service you know we have a problem.

To me the greater certainty of being able to depart and arrive from an airport even 20 or 30 minutes farther away than Hailey is well worth not having to either be bused out of the valley or face cancellations on a fairly regular basis. It may be a little more of an inconvenience for those few folks who arrive in their personal jets to have to drive a little farther, but the long-run importance of getting greater numbers of tourists here on safe and reliable commercial flights certainly outweighs that.

SkyWest Airlines is in the process of moving away from the smaller Brasilia EMB-120 propeller planes to larger regional jets which may not be economically and/or physically feasible to operate within the limited constraints of the existing Hailey airport. When SkyWest’s conversion to regional jets is completed and we do not have a new airport, we could lose a majority, if not all, of their 10 flights per day into and out of the valley. Click hereto read about SkyWest’s aircraft transition plan to replace the Brasilia prop planes.

Update 3-7-08: As reported by Airport Manager Rick Baird this week in the Idaho Mountain Express, SkyWest will retire the EMB-120′s by 2013 and the new airport may not be completed until 2016. Click here to read the Express story.

Then there is the most recent problem of the three crashes of the Bombardier Q-400 (the plane Horizon Airlines flies in and out of Hailey). This recent story about Scandinavian Airlines, which explains that they are permanently dumping all 27 of their Q-400’s, could have ripple effects throughout the industry. We are told locally by the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber of Commerce that Horizon “…has full confidence in the safety and operations of the Q400.” Nevertheless, the SAS problems with the Q-400 may affect other carriers, as well.

Update 5-5-08: SAS, as part of its negotiations with Bombardier over the grounding of the Q-400′s over the landing incidents, has reversed it decision to dump the Q-400 and signed firm orders for additional regional jets and turboprops. This was announced on March 10, 2008 at this link. 

Do your part, take the time to study the facts, attend some of the meetings, call the experts and ask questions. The future of our valley’s vitality hinges on this very important regional issue.

The two public scoping meetings will be held at the Community Campus in Hailey. The first meeting will be on December 3, 2007 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The second meeting will be on December 4, 2007 from 10 a.m. to noon.Each meeting will include an overview of the project, an informal open house period, and a question and answer session. For more information on the EIS and proposed action by the FAA, check in at this website: www.airportsites.net/SUN-EIS (it is expected to be live around 11-12-07).

Planning for Future Power Needs in the Sun Valley Area – Part VII

The Community Advisory Committee, working with Idaho Power to develop a “Wood River Electrical Plan,” held its seventh and potentially final meeting last week. My six previous reports are available here (#6), here (#5), here (#4), here (#3), here (#2), and here (#1).

The purpose of the project is to create a clear and documented electrical energy plan to serve the load needs of the Wood River Valley from now through build out of the valley. The opportunities for tapping into alternative sources of energy are very good as they become available. The challenge of course, is getting the power into the upper valley where it is heavily used to support the tourism and second home industry. As the use increases, so does the need for transmission lines, so there are visual trade-offs which must be considered.

The purpose of the seventh meeting was to review the draft plan and discuss next steps for its introduction to the community. The Committee determined that the draft could use some revisions in its presentation to be more easily understood by the public and that the text could be expanded to better address conservation and alternative energy issues discussed by the Committee.

We had a considerable discussion re-checking and verifying the recommendations and assumptions made in earlier meetings regarding the alternatives being proposed. Our goal is to make sure the report is clear and concise – something that will make sense to the public in terms of need, reliability, redundancy, cost, protection of view corridors, etc. before Idaho Power begins public hearings.

Idaho Power staff will revise the draft, we will then give it another review and the hope is to present it sometime after the Christmas holidays during a public open house meeting(s).

As always, I will continue to report on our progress and you can also follow it at the Wood River Electrical Plan website provided by Idaho Power. The website has a great deal of information, including copies of all the presentations and minutes of our meetings.

Sidebar – Solar Possibilities:

The world’s third-largest solar power plant is located south of here in Boulder City, Nevada. The plant, owned by a Spanish company, produces around 64 MW (Mega Watts) of electricity which is enough to power 40,000 homes. It is located on 350 acres. (As a footnote – the Wood River Valley currently uses just under 120 MW at peak load in the winter.)

Here is a link to an Editorial in the Las Vegas Sun about the plant from this past Sunday.

Here is a link to “The Energy Blog” which has a story about the Boulder City solar plant.

Sidebar – Wind Possibilities:

Speaking of the Las Vegas area – on a trip this past spring, I came across this wind turbine in the backyard of a home in southwest Vegas near Blue Diamond Road. Thinking it was a novel way of using alternative energy I had to snap the picture.

 

In case you didn’t see my first report on the Wood River Electrical Plan meeting, it contains links to three videos taken at the Fossil Gulch Wind Park near Hagerman. The southern part of Idaho seems to be an excellent location for “wind farms” given the topography and sustained wind flows. Click here to see the videos.

Labor Day Tribute to Our Firefighters

As we commemorate Labor Day, our national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country, it is appropriate to pay special thanks to our local firefighters.

The Sun Valley Fire Department, comprised of two full-time employees and 20 plus on-call volunteers, provided critical support to the U.S. Forest Service and Ketchum during the Castle Rock Fire. Our Fire Department was called out almost immediately to help provide structure protection in the Adams Gulch, Hulen Meadows and Fox Creek areas. They stayed on that job for 14 days. As they did that work, they also continued to provide protection for all of our residences, businesses, visitors and residents in Sun Valley. While all the media attention was on the Ketchum Fire Department, they were being supported by Sun Valley and more than 20 volunteer, city and rural fire departments from across Idaho. Hailey, Wood River Rural, Bellevue, Carey, Sawtooth Valley and Friedman Memorial Fire Departments also played a valuable role in the Castle Rock Fire.

Had the tables been turned and this fire or another was threatening Sun Valley, the Ketchum Fire Department would have done the same thing to support us. That is what makes the firefighting brotherhood as great as it is. They work selflessly for the well-being of our greater community.

So here’s great thanks to Jeff, Pat, Blair, Eric, Tina, Ray, Mal, Reid, Jim, Chris, Dan, Chris, James, John, Gunnar, Bart, George, Joe, Matt, Ryan, and Mark; and also Nick’s and Patrick’s great support help.  

Castle Rock Fire Update 9/1/07 – 10:00 a.m.

9/4/07 – 9:00 a.m. Update – InciWeb reports at 9:00 a.m. the fire is now 100% contained: “After a long tough fight, the Castle Rock Fire has been 100% contained and handlines and bulldozer lines completely surround the 48,520 acre fire…” To read the full InciWeb report, click here. Congratulations to Incident Commander Jeanne Pincha-Tulley and her entire crew!

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9/4/07 – 8:00 a.m. Update – NIFC reports at 5:30 a.m. the fire at 48,520 acres, containment at 94%, personnel at 919 and total cost to date at $23.4 million. The report now estimates full containment today, September 4, 2007.

***** 

9/3/07 – 8:00 a.m. Update -  NIFC reports at 8:00 a.m. the fire at 48,189 acres, containment at 89%, personnel at 1,087 and total cost to date at $22.6 million. Fire managers still estimate full containment of the fire today, Monday, September 3rd. The latest InciWeb report is available by clicking here.

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9/2/07 – 8:00 a.m. Update – NIFC reports at 8:00 a.m. the fire at 47,859 acres, containment at 81%, personnel at 1,517 and total cost to date at $20.3 million. Fire managers estimate full containment of the fire by tomorrow, Monday, September 3rd. The latest InciWeb report (click here) gives a good run down on the status of the fire this morning.

*****

This good news from the USFS and Blaine County this morning:

Upper & Lower Board Ranch neighborhoods are upgraded to Voluntary Evacuation Status beginning at Gates Road as of Noon today.  That means residents (only) can return to the area, but no contractors, landscapers, etc.  However if fire behavior changes, you may need to leave again.  Remember, no one will be admitted until 12:00 PM!

For additional important information on the lifting of the mandatory evacuation order and other status changes, please click here.

*****

Resources:

For USFS Incident Report updates click here.

      (if InciWeb is down click here)

For current Blaine County updates click here.

For Firewise information click here.

For trail closure information from Big Wood Backcountry Trails click here.

For health information regarding wildfire smoke from St. Luke’s Hospital click here.

For current air quality information in the Ketchum/Sun Valley area click here.

For information on how to contribute to the local firefighters click here.

For general information - call 208-726-7811

Castle Rock Fire Update 8/30/07 – 10:30 p.m.

9/1/07 – 8:00 a.m. Update – NIFC reports at 5:30 a.m. the fire at 47,316 acres, containment at 78%, personnel at 1,547 and total cost to date at $18.9 million. They continue to mop up the backfire behind the homes in the Board Ranch area of Warm Springs this morning where the mandatory evacuation remains in effect.

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8/31/07 – 6:00 a.m. Update – NIFC reports at 5:30 a.m. the fire at 46,231 acres, containment at 66%, personnel at 1,701 and total cost to date at $16.6 million.

H B-Day – P B-R!

*****

Tonight’s Community Briefing at Hemingway School by Incident Commander Jeanne Pincha-Tulley and Operations Chief Joe Reyes was a breath of fresh air and hope. It looks like the end is in sight.

In Jeanne’s words, as she pointed to a map of the Lower Board Ranch area, “When we finish this piece, we can put this baby to bed.” That’s not to say that we won’t be seeing smoke into the winter snows and perhaps even a little next spring as some roots that smolder over the winter perk up again (yes they can do that!). Our Board Ranch friends living as refugees are getting anxious, and rightly so. The good news is their homes are standing and they will have a place to go home to.

Several other topics were covered at the meeting including plans already underway on resource recovery assessments, planning for making our community better prepared for future fire events through the “Firewise” program, and watershed protection. Ketchum District Ranger Kurt Nelson explained he and his staff will be working with Big Wood Backcountry Trails in assessing needs for trails rehabilitation.

We are not completely out of the woods, so to speak, as the weather service is predicting more storms which could effect the fire lines over the next few days. The fire managers will be paying close attention to this, making sure the lines they have constructed and reinforced hold.

Resources:

For USFS Incident Report updates click here.

      (if InciWeb is down click here)

For current Blaine County updates click here.

For Firewise information click here.

For trail closure information from Big Wood Backcountry Trails click here.

For health information regarding wildfire smoke from St. Luke’s Hospital click here.

For current air quality information in the Ketchum/Sun Valley area click here.

For information on how to contribute to the local firefighters click here.

For general information - call 208-726-7811