BOISE, Idaho — In response to the devastating wildfires currently sweeping across Los Angeles County, Idaho will send five task forces to help protect communities threatened by the ongoing fires.

Sand Hollow Fire Protection District preparing to deploy to SoCal fires

The move comes in response to a request from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. In total, Idaho will send 104 firefighters and 25 fire engines to the Los Angeles area on Thursday morning. The task forces, which were coordinated by the Idaho Office of Emergency Management and the Idaho Fire Chiefs Association, hope to be in place on Friday.

IFCA president, Kirk Carpenter says the task forces are ready to “stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners to protect communities in harm’s way.”

As of this writing, 5 people have perished in the various fires ravaging Los Angeles County and 100,000 have been evacuated from their homes.

Chronic Wasting Disease, or CWD, is a deadly and incurable neurological illness. Idaho just received its second confirmed case in domestic elk.

What is Chronic Wasting Disease

CWD is a prion disease, a type of illness not caused by viruses or bacteria, but instead by misfolded proteins called prions. When enough prions enter the body, they can create a chain reaction of damaging normal proteins in the body which leads to cell destruction and neurological damage, and inevitably, death of the organism.

Prion diseases are currently incurable and the only known ones occur in mammals. CWD affects animals in the deer family (cervids) such as but not limited to: moose, caribou, mule deer, reindeer, red deer, and elk. CWD was first found in Colorado in 1967, but through the years has been detected across the globe.

“It’s in Asia, Europe and North America,” said Professor Mark Zabel with the Prion Research Center at Colorado State University

How is it spread?

Zabel said that the disease can be transferred directly–for instance from a sick moose to a healthy moose–as well as transferred indirectly due to the prions’ infectious properties,

“…unlike many most other pathogens, it’s very stable in the environment. So it can remain infectious in the environment, in soil and landscapes. For years to decades.”

Prions get into the environment (soil, water, plants, etc) through excretion by infected animals, such as through their urine, feces, saliva, and decomposing bodies. Then, due to the prion’s very stable protein structure, they’re able to stay infectious for up to 20 years. This means other animals can pass through the environment, and pick up the prions laid decades past, and still get infected.

CWD is difficult to detect because animals may be infected for long periods of time without showing signs due to the disease’s incubation period. On average, the time between initial infection and first signs of it is 18 to 24 months long.

Concerns of the Disease

Not only is CWD an ecological concern due to the difficulty of combating it, but it is also a severe economic issue regarding wildlife and agriculture governmental agencies. The most recent data shows the government as spent $280 million dollars on CWD from 2000-2021. A majority amount of that was spent by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Idaho first saw CWD in wild mule deer in 2021. Within the past two months, there have been two confirmed cases of domestic elks that were from different elk farms, meaning, they couldn’t have infected one another. In Idaho’s 2021-2022 fiscal year, wildlife agencies spent close to $225,000 trying to combat CWD.

Zabel told me his main concern as a scientist is “…this disease could spread to humans, you know. So it has some zoonotic potential, similar to another prion disease that people might be aware of called bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE. Probably more commonly known as mad cow disease.”

When someone eats beef contaminated with Mad Cow disease, a variant of the prion disease from the cow can be made to infect a human. For now, CWD does not have the ability to change to infect humans, but since it is a prion disease, it is possible that it could develop one.

What you can do to stay safe and help

Zabel encourages hunters to follow state practices to reduce the possible spread of CWD and to test their harvest before eating. There’s no evidence yet that CWD can transfer from cervid to human but Zabel told me,

“I would definitely not want to be the reference case. I don’t want to be patient zero.”

This past year, Idaho Fish and Game released hunting guidelines to reduce the spread of CWD . The agency also offers free testing kits for hunters to help track the disease by sending in samples of their game.

A Boise-based trust and wealth management services company is expanding its footprint in the industry.

Idaho Trust Company announced on Jan. 6 that it had entered into an agreement with Bank of Idaho to acquire the latter company’s Trust and Wealth Management Division. The acquisition will expand Idaho Trust into eastern Idaho.

Idaho Trust stated that the move will help it expand its footprint in the trust and wealth management sector, “aligning with the organization’s growth strategy and commitment to delivering custom trust and wealth management services to individuals, families and businesses, the acquisition ensures Bank of Idaho Trust and Wealth Management clients will benefit from expanded service offerings, ensuring a seamless transition and wider array of financial solutions.”

Thomas Prohaska, chairman and president of Idaho Trust called the acquisition an “exciting opportunity,” that will allow his company to reach a new group of clients.

“We are honored to welcome the new team and their clients into our family and are committed to providing them with the tailored solutions, enhanced resources and the personalized service they are accustomed to,” he said.

The acquisition will also allow Bank of Idaho to focus on its commercial and personal banking products and services.

“Our priority has always been to provide our customers with the best possible financial solutions,” said Jeff Newgard, chairman, president and CEO of Bank of Idaho. “By transitioning our Trust and Wealth Management Division to Idaho Trust, we are confident our clients will benefit from an expanded suite of services and the exceptional expertise of a team widely recognized for their dedication to trust and wealth management. We deeply appreciate the trust our clients have placed in us and are committed to supporting them through this transition.”

Bank of Idaho clients are being informed of the acquisition and transition process, and it is expected to close the first quarter of 2025.