Idaho
Evacuations ordered as west bench wildfire grows to at least 800 acres – East Idaho News
UPDATE
According to the Pocatello Police Department, all Gate City residents living north of the switchback on North Lincoln Street from the switchback in the area of the City Creek trail system need to evacuate immediately. Residents in this area should have received a reverse 911 call warning them of the evacuation order.
The fire on the west bench of Pocatello has grown to somewhere between 800 to 1,000 acres, according to an update posted to the Pocatello Fire Department Facebook page at 3:35 p.m. The fire is currently moving south and is zero percent contained.
Firefighting air assets from the Bureau of Land Management are on their way to join the fight against the fire. In addition to firefighters from the BLM and Chubbuck, Forest Service firefighters are assisting as well.
Kim Stouse, spokesperson for PFD, told EastIdahoNews.com that firefighters have spotted a few drones flying in the area of the fire.
“Whenever you have aircraft (fighting a fire), they’ll come low for a drop before they rise back up to refuel, so whenever you have drones flying low you run the chance of them getting intermixed with the engines and potentially bringing down an aircraft,” Stouse explained.
Stouse warned the public not to fly drones in the area, as the aircraft would not be able to assist in firefighting efforts.
At the time of the evacuation order, no buildings had been damaged or injuries reported.
ORIGINAL STORY
POCATELLO — A wildfire has been reported in Pocatello.
According to a city spokesperson, the fire was first reported at 12:45 p.m. on Thursday. Kim Stouse, a Pocatello Fire Department spokeswoman, said it was in the area off West Clark Street on the West Bench, nearby the Upper City Creek trailhead.
Stouse said at this point, the department doesn’t know how many acres it is, but estimates that it might be around 50 acres as of 2:40 p.m.
“It’s kind of burning up the hillside at this point, so there’s no current evacuations. Not to say that there couldn’t be, but we’re trying to work diligently to get the upper hand on it and get it contained as quickly as possible,” Stouse said.
Authorities are asking people to avoid the area to allow emergency vehicles easy access to the area of the fire.
Currently, the Chubbuck Fire Department and firefighters with the Bureau of Land Management are assisting PFD in containing the blaze.
Pocatello Police officers are on the scene and will assist in evacuations if needed.
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Idaho
Idaho is home to the nation's first DarkSky Reserve. Now it's home to the nations first DarkSky Certified Resort
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – A controversy is brewing as the City of Idaho Falls reviews its alcohol ordinance.
The goal is to consolidate four existing ordinances for beer, wine and liquor into a single law and ensure compliance with state code.
However, at its meeting last Thursday, the Idaho Falls City Council unanimously voted to remove the proposed ordinance from its agenda, in order to receive and consider additional public comment.
The proposed ordinance would:
1. Require commercial establishments selling, dispensing or permitting consumption of alcohol – including beer, wine or liquor – to have an alcohol license, alcohol catering permit or a charitable event permit.
2. Business events with 20 or less employees consuming alcohol at the business would be allowed.
3. Require alcohol servers to complete training every three years.
4. Individuals who violate the law could be charged with a misdemeanor.
Idaho Falls City Council President Jim Francis said the changes were the culmination of months of collaboration between law enforcement, business owners and city attorneys.
“We wanted to provide a safe environment – the primary point here – for public gatherings,” Francis said. “We recognize that certain antiquated elements of the current code are overly restrictive and needed to be addressed. We wanted to make the code more accessible to the public. We needed to address over-pouring issues. We wanted to reduce penalties where possible for violations, particularly the first offenses, and yet make the code clear enough to be enforceable consistently by law enforcement.”
But City Council Member John Radford said the changes represent an overreach by city government.
“I believe it’s a bad policy. What problem are we solving in the name of trying to solve a non-problem?” Radford said. “We’re becoming big brother around alcohol in your private property. I’m concerned that landlords will be at risk of being charged with a misdemeanor if they knowingly, which I made sure that was in there, because that is what we’ve been talking about, allowed people to drink in our business. We will be outside the norm of Idaho cities. This is a big step, and I don’t think the public has weighed in on this.”
At a City Council Work Session on June 1, Idaho Falls Chief of Police Bryce Johnson cited an increase in alcohol-related crime – particularly downtown – as a reason for the changes.
“DUI is there, but this would include sexual assaults, assaults, batteries, disturbances, urination, public vandalism, shooting – all sorts of crimes,” Johnson said.
But business owners are concerned about the potential impact on commercial enterprises.
“The ordinance doesn’t address the real problem – which is people drinking … at one event and then showing up in a bar or restaurant already hammered and causing problems anyway,” ” said Terri Ireland, representing the Idaho Falls Downtown Merchants Association. “The industry is really well-regulated by state and local laws already.”
The City of Idaho Falls began the process of updating its alcohol ordinance in January 2026, seeking input from community stakeholders.
Multiple community members spoke out about the ordinance.
For more in-depth information, you can read the full 39-page proposed alcohol ordinance here.
BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — A simmering dispute between Idaho’s top elections official and the U.S. Department of Justice escalated this month after federal officials warned Secretary of State Phil McGrane about possible prosecution tied to non-citizens voting in Idaho.
The Justice Department sent a letter earlier this month threatening McGrane with prosecution. The warning came amid a broader conflict between the Trump administration and McGrane, whom the administration has sued over his refusal to provide unredacted voter rolls to the federal government.
Idaho’s chief of civil litigation, James Craig, responded on July 10. In a letter first reported by the Idaho Statesman, Craig pushed back on the federal warning, writing, “Insinuations of criminal violations of the federal election laws are not well taken,” and asking the department to “stop threatening your friends in Idaho.”
Craig also requested that the lawsuit against McGrane be dismissed and criticized the Justice Department for sending its letter directly to McGrane rather than to the Idaho attorney general’s office.
The attorney general’s office said the state has already referred 15 cases of possible non-citizen election violations to the Justice Department but is not aware of any of them being prosecuted. Craig’s letter ends by asking the department to do so.
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