Idaho
Fire lookouts have a long history to help fight wildfires in Idaho
BOISE, Idaho — The Boise National Forest continues to use fire lookouts today as they have around eight staffed lookouts during wildfire season, these lookouts have also played a pivotal role in the history of fighting wildfire.
The story begins in 1908 when the Boise National Forest service started. A forest supervisor was walking towards a wildfire when he ran into Harry Shellworth who was working for the Boise Payette Lumber Company.
“At that time they both saw the need to defend our wild areas from fire. They set up a gentlemen’s agreement and it spurred on the Southern Idaho Timber Protective Association.”
Virginia Clifton, a historian and archeologist with the Boise National Forest.
This partnership would build the first fire lookout in the area in 1908 on top of Bald Mountain, today it is called the Thorn Creek Lookout.
“It has been rebuilt, it is still standing and it is staffed. For the most part we have rebuilt a lot of our lookouts since the 1930s since the Civilian Conservation Corps came about.”
Clifton
The CCC was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 as a means to get out of the great depression. Harry Shellworth saw an opportunity and went to Washington D.C. to advocate for CCC funding in Idaho.
“Behind California Idaho was the most densely populated with CCC folks and CCC camps,” said Clifton. “With that came a lot of construction of lookouts.”
The Shafer Butte Lookout had already been built in 1925, but the Quartzfire of 1931 ended up scorching much of the Boise Boise. The Civilian Conservation Corps went to work building the Boise Ridge Road as a fire break and for another access point to the lookout.
It’s still standing on top of what is now Bogus Basin Ski Resort. In total there were 163 CCC camps in Idaho with 20,000 people working on a variety of projects including lookouts that were now located all over Idaho on the top of mountain peaks.
“I think part of the reason why Idaho has a history of so many lookouts across the entire state and not just the Boise National Forest is because of our terrain. Our terrain is so steep and so rugged that it makes communications with fire managers outside of lookouts a lot more challenging.”
Clifton
Fire lookouts have always been the best way to catch a wildfire when it’s small. New technology has emerged including cameras and artificial intelligence to detect smoke, but people still man some of the lookouts in the Boise National Forest.
Many of the lookouts have been rebuilt from their earlier days while some like the Deadwood Lookout is available for people to rent out and stay in. That lookout earned a designation on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s also under threat right now from the Nellie Fire.
Idaho also has others that qualify for that designation like the Danskin Peak Lookout built in 1941 and Virginia Clifton is working to help preserve these historic lookouts.
“It’s been my goal since I started with the Boise National Forest in 2016. I want to get all of our lookouts recorded and documented, not all of them are and we need to get all of them evaluated for the National Register of Historic Places.”
Clifton
If you want to learn more about how lookouts work and the value they provide here is a story we did on the Danskin Lookout.
We’re lucky to live in a place as safe as the Treasure Valley. Despite our growth, one of the things that makes our area so special is the way that we look out for one another–for our neighbors! That’s a principle that seems to have held on as Boise has boomed.
Despite low crime rates, there seems to always be one incident or so that makes us scratch our heads.
A recent string of fraud incidents in the Treasure Valley area is one of those.
Nampa Police initially warned the public of this because cases of fraud began to ‘mushroom’. Then, it took an interesting turn–people that HAD their credit cards were being ‘taken to the bank’, so to speak.
In a statement originally released on April 30th by the Nampa Police Department, officials advised the following:
We are not sure how the suspects are gaining access to the victim’s credit cards. There is a growing fraud scheme, “ghost tapping”, that scammers are using to access victims’ credit cards. This is possibly occurring in these instances. “Ghost tapping” uses stolen credit card details in Apple Pay or Google Pay, then remotely relays the tap signal over the internet to a ‘mule’ at a store, allowing them to make high-value purchases that appear completely legitimate. (We’ll share more information on ghost tapping in a later public service announcement that will also suggest ways to protect yourself.) The app used by these criminals obscures the actual credit card number, making it harder for investigators to link a victim to a particular crime. Keep in mind that victims still have their physical credit cards while suspects use the stolen card information to make purchases, which also affects how victims are alerted. So far, local investigators have not been able to identify a common theme among the victims (e.g., a specific bank, a website they visited, a gas pump they used, etc.) in the fraud cases we are investigating.
The investigation spans far and wide.
Authorities say that some suspects are in custody, others are being contacted, and others are still at large.
Now, a week later, the police are back to reaching out to the public–this time, urging people to check their bank accounts.
Nampa Police say that they have caught onto a pattern– there are fraudulent charges at Albertson’s to purchase gift cards, at Costco to purchase Apple products, and at Best Buy, also for Apple products.
Check those bank statements!
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The USDA has issued a public health alert for various meat and poultry products containing FDA-regulated dairy that may have been contaminated with salmonella. The recall was originally issued on April 30th, but the contaminated product list could continue to grow as more products are identified.
The Food Safety and Inspection arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the public health alert and there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of the products listed below, consumers are still advised to dispose of the items or return them to the place of purchase. Great Value and Pork King Good products sold at Idaho Walmart stores are included in the alert and recall.
Public Health Alert and Food Recall Issued For Pizza and Pork Rinds Sold in Idaho
As of right now, the food list includes pork rinds, breakfast pizzas, and chicken bacon ranch pizzas. The list could grow and the USDA advises consumers to check the list frequently. We will also update the list here when possible. The contaminated products carry a variety of ‘Best By’ and ‘Produced On’ dates, so check the lists carefully to make sure you don’t consume a contaminated product.
The nationwide brands to look for are Mama Cozzi’s from Aldi stores, Pork King Good, and Great Value at Walmart Stores.
Photo Credit USDA – 1
Photo Credit USDA – 1
You can also look through these label photos to see if you have the product in your freezer.
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
If you feel sick and have consumed a contaminated product, the USDA advise you to contact your health care provider.
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