Wildfires have been burning across Idaho this summer, and their list of harmful impacts is long, from worsening health conditions because of smoke to challenges recovering millions in costs to fight them.

But a recent U.S. Geological Survey has added another bad side effect to the list: the rise of a toxic chemical.

The study, which took place between 2021 and 2022, sampled 57 streams at the beginning of river systems in Idaho, Oregon and Washington for mercury, a chemical that can damage the human nervous system at high concentrations. In both water and sediment from the streams, one-year post-fire, mercury concentrations were higher.

Concentrations of methylmercury, the most toxic form of mercury that’s made when microbes add carbon to mercury, were also 178% higher in water from burned streams. Insects that filtered stream water or ate debris also had higher levels. The compound becomes dangerous as it accumulates in animals over time and gets absorbed by tissues in the body, according to the World Health Organization.

“There hasn’t been a lot of work done on the effects of wildfire on mercury,” Austin Baldwin, a USGS research hydrologist who led the study, told the Idaho Statesman. “With wildfires increasing in both severity and frequency, there was interest with me and my co-authors on knowing what are the effects.”

Baldwin said that when wildfires come through an area, they burn vegetation, which loosens mercury-containing soil and causes erosion into streams and mercury contamination. More studies would need to be done to understand if mercury levels after wildfires are high enough to be a concern for humans, he added.

Mercury levels likely won’t stay high forever and will taper off with major rainfall or the first snow melt after the fire, Baldwin said.

While the best solution to keep mercury out of streams would be preventing wildfires, Baldwin thinks prescribed burns could help mitigate some of the effects. The USGS study found mercury concentrations went up more in areas where wildfires were worse.

Prescribed burns, which are small fires set intentionally, can reduce the future risk of high-intensity fires by 64%, according to a study by Columbia and Stanford universities.

“If you can lower burn severities, you can also lower mercury,” Baldwin said.

When people are exposed to methylmercury, it often happens through fish consumption.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s Fish Consumption Advisory Project regularly tests fish in areas commonly contaminated with mercury. When mercury levels are too high in a species, the state agency issues advisories to avoid eating the species, said Drew Pendleton, the state toxicologist.

Many of the areas that cause fish advisories in Idaho are related to mining, and Pendleton is not “too concerned” about mercury increases from the wildfires. But the research could help inform the state on future sites for testing, he said.

Pendleton recommends visiting the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Health and Welfare websites to check for advisories on mercury exposure and learn the best methods to stay safe.

2024 The Idaho Statesman. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

POCATELLO — A tornado warning was issued on Tuesday by the National Weather Service in Pocatello — but did one ever touch down?

The warning in eastern Idaho lasted for one hour, from 2 to 3 p.m., and affected Jefferson, Butte, Bonneville and Bingham counties. The Idaho National Laboratory area was a concern. 

NWS meteorologist Kurt Buffalo told EastIdahoNews.com that the agency never received any confirmation of one that actually touched down. 

However, the radar data supported the development of a tornado, as well as what people who were close to the storm saw. 

“They were seeing what we call a ‘wall cloud’ … and then we also had some reports of possible funnel clouds developing,” Buffalo said. 

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A wall cloud can rotate, but not all do. Rotating wall clouds usually develop before strong or violent tornadoes, according to a glossary from NWS. 

“A funnel cloud is basically the start of a tornado. So it’s the part that is extending downward from the cloud, and it’s rotating, but it never extends downward far enough to actually come in contact with the ground,” Buffalo explained. 

So, what’s the difference between a tornado warning and a tornado watch?

Buffalo said a tornado warning is when they see indications either on radar or reports from people on the field that a tornado is imminent or likely to develop. 

“There’s a high threat. We are seeing enough that there is a high threat for a tornado to develop. A warning is when we are actually seeing a thunderstorm that is showing characteristics that could produce a tornado very soon,” he said. 

On Tuesday, several severe thunderstorm warnings were issued, producing mainly hail, some the size of about a quarter, and strong wind gusts of around 60 miles an hour. 

“When one is issued, just head indoors and take cover in an interior room,” Buffalo said. 

He added that Tuesday was the first tornado warning issued this year for the region. 

“We usually do issue on average, I’d say, two to four per year for eastern Idaho,” he said. 

As for tornado watches, they are typically issued a few hours ahead of time but are rare.

“That’s saying that conditions are favorable for that storm to develop to potentially produce tornados. It’s kind of a heads up,” he said. “We virtually never see tornado watches here.”

The last tornado touchdown in eastern Idaho was near Grace last year on June 23. It was in an open field, and there was no damage, Buffalo told EastIdahoNews.com.

The Idaho Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by the would-be buyers that the Idaho Legislature blocked from purchasing the Idaho Transportation Department’s former Boise headquarters.

In a unanimous decision, the five Idaho Supreme Court justices dismissed the lawsuit, writing that the state did not sign a contract with the would-be buyers of the property. The buyers were the high-bidders for state surplus property, but did not have a legally enforceable contract, the Idaho Supreme Court found.

“Our decision is based solely on our conclusion that petitioners do not have a legally enforceable right to purchase the ITD campus and as a result, they do not have standing to file this action,” Idaho Supreme Court Justice Colleen D. Zahn wrote in the opinion.

In a written statement Tuesday, the would-be buyers expressed disappointment in the ruling. The buyers included Hawkins Companies, Pacific West Communities, INC. and FJ Management.

“We are shocked by the Idaho Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss this case, avoiding a decision to correct the unconstitutional legislative interference in our state’s budget process,” Hawkins Companies CEO Brian Huffaker said in a written statement. “We continue to believe any review of the unchecked actions of the Idaho Legislature would have found them to be illegal.”

“Despite months of opportunities for all three branches of state government to participate in fair business dealings, none have chosen to do so,” Huffaker added. “Those choices, along with the actions of the Idaho Legislature, send a clear message: Don’t do business with Idaho. All of us – citizens and businesses alike – should be concerned.”

 “We now hope the taxpayers hold legislators and state leaders accountable for lost revenue and opportunity stemming from their unprecedented interference with the free market,” Huffaker said.

The Idaho Supreme Court had originally scheduled oral arguments on the case Aug. 26, but Tuesday’s opinion dismissed the case and makes oral arguments unnecessary. 

The 45-acre property at the center of the case is the Idaho Transportation Department’s former Boise headquarters located at 3311 W. State St. in Boise. 

A series of events led to the lawsuit. 

• In January 2022, the building flooded and was contaminated with asbestos, according to court documents. 
• In August 2022, the Idaho Transportation Department’s board declared the property “surplus property,” paving the way for it to be put up for sale.
• In November 2023, state officials told the Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that the state sold the State Street property to a joint venture including Hawkins Companies, Pacific West Communities and FJ Management for $51.7 million, the Sun previously reported. 
• On March 1, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved budget language blocking the sale of the property. That day, some legislators on the committee told the Sun the contract had not been signed and money had not yet changed hands. They said they felt it was more financially responsible to keep the property and refurbish it. 
• On April 25, the would-be buyers filed a lawsuit against the state asking the Idaho Supreme Court to throw out legislative budget language that blocked the state’s authority to sell the property, the Sun previously reported. 

The would-be buyers said they followed all of the state’s purchasing requirements, made the high bid in a competitive bidding process and felt they had a deal. But the state argued that it had discretion in concluding the sale and was not obligated to sign a contract with the high bidder or even complete the sale at all.

In the end, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the would-be buyers did not have standing to file the challenge, and did not not look at whether or not the Idaho Legislature overstepped its authority to block the sale. 

“To be clear, our opinion today does not decide whether the legislature exceeded its

constitutional authority in passing the appropriations bills,” Zahn wrote in Tuesday’s opinion. “It also does not decide whether a party with standing would be entitled to the requested writs.”

Idaho Supreme Court ITD opinion