Idaho
Idaho’s potential for significant fire activity increases with hot, dry conditions – East Idaho News
BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) — Idaho fire officials are preparing for above normal fire potential in parts of the state due to high temperatures and dry conditions.
Idaho Department of Lands fire management chief Josh Harvey told Gov. Brad Little and other members of the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners on Tuesday that the southern portion of the state has already experienced temperatures well above average, coupled with precipitation levels that are below average.
“The significant wildfire potential outlook for July shows above normal fire potential for southern Idaho – and this is above normal fire potential that’s already present in southern Idaho, and extends into portions of northern Idaho into August and September,” Harvey said during a land board meeting at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.
In response, the Sawtooth National Forest will enter Stage 1 fire restrictions on Wednesday, while the Central Idaho Restriction Zone will go into Stage 1 fire restrictions on Friday, Harvey said.
Under Stage 1 fire restrictions, building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire or stove is prohibited except within a designated recreation site or on a person’s own land when using an owner-provided fire structure, according to the Idaho Department of Lands.
“So the season ramps up, fire managers are talking, (and in) North Idaho we have discussions coming up about going into restrictions there as well,” Harvey added.
Once again this year, the majority of fires that state fire officials are tracking have been caused by humans. This year, 99 of the 116 fires that state officials are tracking have been human caused, according to the Idaho Department of Lands. The remaining 17 fires this year were caused by lightning.
Fire near Idaho’s Redfish Lake increases in size
The Bench Lake Fire burning in the Sawtooth National Forest near Redfish Lake grew to an estimated 1,250 acres in size by Tuesday morning, according to the Great Basin public information team’s incident report for the fire.
As of Tuesday, more than 200 firefighters were fighting the Bench Lake Fire, which started July 11.
On Sunday, crews were able to use helicopters and scooping aircraft to dump more than 370,000 gallons of water collected from nearby Redfish Lake onto the fire, fire officials said. However, as of Tuesday morning, crews were reporting the fire was 0% contained.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to the Great Basin public information team.
A community meeting about the Bench Lake Fire is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Stanley Community Building, 500 Eva Falls Ave., in Stanley.
Fire danger in Yellowstone National Park listed as ‘high’
The fire danger in Yellowstone National Park remains at “high” after the designation was raised law week.
In a news release issued July 10, Yellowstone National Park’s public affairs office announced that park officials were increasing the fire danger from “moderate” to “high.”
A day later, Yellowstone National Park officials announced that they were closing three rivers to fishing due to warm water temperatures and low river flows. Officials closed the Madison River, Firehole River, Gibbon River and their associated tributaries to fishing until conditions improve.
Yellowstone National Park remains open to the public. The latest fire information for Yellowstone National Park is available online.
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Idaho
Interstate 84 near Mountain Home back open after utility work
MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Interstate 84 near Mountain Home is back open after crews closed the freeway due to utility work.
Crews closed westbound and eastbound lanes on Saturday morning from milepost 90 to milepost 95 due to Idaho Power working on power lines in the area, according to the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office. All lanes are now back open in both directions.
The sheriff’s office and the Mountain Home Police Department apologized for the inconvenience, saying they were just informed of the closure on Saturday morning.
More information regarding road closures and traffic conditions can be found at the Idaho Transportation Department’s 511 map.
Copyright 2026 KMVT. All rights reserved.
Idaho
Idaho murder victims’ families file wrongful death lawsuit against Washington State University
The families of the four University of Idaho students killed in a brutal 2022 stabbing attack have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Washington State University (WSU), alleging the school ignored repeated warning signs about Bryan Kohberger.
The civil complaint, filed Jan. 7 in Skagit County Superior Court, was brought by Steve Goncalves, father of Kaylee Goncalves; Karen Laramie, mother of Madison Mogen; Jeffrey Kernodle, father of Xana Kernodle; and Stacy Chapin, mother of Ethan Chapin.
The lawsuit accuses WSU of gross negligence, wrongful death and violations of federal education laws, including Title IX. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages.
Attorney Robert Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices, said that the decision to leave damages “unspecified” is a strategic norm in high-stakes litigation because it prevents the focus from shifting towards sensationalism and keeps the decision firmly in the hands of the jury.
“Ultimately, that’s to be determined and answered by the jury,” said Clifford, who is not involved in the lawsuit. “But you have some compelling facts and the liability is going to depend on the strength of what the school knew.”
Despite Kohberger’s guilty plea in the murders, Clifford explained the civil case remains strong because the families face a lower burden of proof – requiring only a preponderance of evidence to establish the university’s liability.
“The mere fact that he pled guilty might not even be admissible in the civil proceeding because he’s not the defendant, right? If he is a defendant in the civil proceeding, then his plea of guilty will be important. And indeed, this school might try to use that to say, ‘See, it wasn’t our fault. He admits that it was his fault.’ But the bar is different for someone in a criminal proceeding than it is in a civil proceeding.”
According to the lawsuit, WSU hired Kohberger as a teaching assistant in its criminal justice and criminology department and provided him with a salary, tuition benefits, health insurance and on-campus housing.
The victims’ families allege the university had extensive authority over Kohberger’s conduct but failed to act despite mounting concerns.
Here’s the latest coverage on Bryan Kohberger:
The complaint says WSU received at least 13 formal reports accusing Kohberger of threatening, stalking, harassing or predatory behavior toward female students and staff during the fall 2022 semester. The families argue university officials did not meaningfully investigate those complaints or remove Kohberger from campus before the murders – even though they had the authority to do so.
The lawsuit also alleges that the university failed to use its own threat-assessment systems designed to identify individuals who pose a risk of violence, even as concerns about Kohberger escalated. Instead, the families claim, the university continued to employ him, house him and give him access to students.
“The murders were foreseeable and preventable,” the complaint states, alleging WSU prioritized avoiding legal and reputational risk over student safety.
The lawsuit also alleges broad failures within the public university, including alleged dysfunction within campus police and compliance officers who are responsible for handling accusations of misconduct, including sexual harassment and stalking.
Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of first-degree murder and burglary. He was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors said Kohberger stabbed the four students in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, inside an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, just miles from the WSU campus in Pullman, Washington.
Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania in December 2022 following a multi-state investigation.
Authorities linked him to the crime through DNA evidence, surveillance video and cellphone data showing repeated late-night trips near the victims’ home.
WSU has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit. Fox News Digital has reached out to WSU for comment.
Idaho
Turkey Town Hall to be held at the end of January to discuss North End nuisance
BOISE, Idaho — At the end of January, Boise City Councilmember Jimmy Hallyburton will hold a town hall meeting to discuss the growing population of wild turkeys in the North End. The meeting, which is set to take place at Lowell Elementary School on January 29 at 7 p.m., will center around education and how to treat wildlife in an urban setting.
The public meeting will feature speakers from the Boise Parks and Recreation Department, Idaho Fish & Game, and Councilmember Hallyburton.
Hallyburton told Idaho News 6 over the phone that the meeting was prompted by damaging and, in some cases, violent behavior by wild turkeys in the North End. Residents in the area have reported turkeys scratching cars with their talons, ruining vegetable gardens, sparring with domesticated dogs & cats, and even becoming aggressive towards human beings.
A viewer in the North End recently shared a video with Idaho News 6 that shows a flock of turkeys accosting a postal service worker. Thankfully, a dog intervened and saved the USPS worker from further harm.
See the video of the attack below
Hallyburton said that the North End community needs to take a focused approach to how it deals with the turkeys. “We’re making it too easy for them to live in the North End,” Hallyburton said. “We need to make our urban areas less habitable for the turkeys.”
The North End councilmember goes on to explain that residents who are feeding or treating the turkeys as pets are creating an environment in which human vs. wildlife conflict is more likely. “You might think that you’re helping the turkeys, but you’re actually causing them harm over the long term,” said Hallyburton.
Hallyburton added that the population of turkeys in the area has ballooned from a single flock of around a dozen turkeys to multiple flocks and roughly 40 turkeys. They are mostly located in the residential area of the North End between 18th and 28th streets.
Idaho Fish & Game recommends “gentle hazing” to keep turkeys from roosting in urban areas. This can include squirting turkeys with water when they approach one’s property.
Since transplanting wildlife has become more difficult in recent years due to new laws, the only other option for the turkeys would be extermination, which Hallyburton said he would like to avoid at all costs.
WATCH: Wild turkeys take over Boise’s North End
Wild turkeys turn Boise’s North End into their new roost
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