Free ice show to support firefighters
While firefighters gain the upper hand on the Beaver Creek Fire, Sun Valley Resort plans to dedicate its ice show this Saturday, Aug. 24, to the foundation that supports the families of wildland firefighters.
General admission tickets to Sun Valley On Ice will be complimentary. In exchange, the attending public will be asked to make a donation to the Wildland Firefighters Foundation, the organization that provides the safety net to the firefighting community.
“We really want to thank Sun Valley for its past and continued support of our wildland firefighting community,” said Burk Minor, director of the Wildland Firefighter Foundation (www.wffoundation.org). “We have over 1,700 firefighters risking life and limb on the Beaver Creek Fire alone, and we all appreciate Sun Valley’s efforts that go above and beyond.”
The Wildland Firefighter Foundation provides direct financial support to the families and the homes of firefighters killed and injured in wildland fires throughout the U.S.
“Sun Valley’s first concern is and always will be for the safety of our guests and employees, and the work of these courageous firefighters is crucial to our community,” said Sun Valley spokesman Jack Sibbach.
For information, call 622-2135
Celebrate salmon in Stanley
The annual Sawtooth Salmon Festival, co-sponsored by the Sawtooth Interpretive & Historical Association and Idaho Rivers United, will take place Friday, Aug. 23, and Saturday, Aug. 24, at the Stanley Museum.
The festival will begin on Friday, Aug. 23, with the Shoshone-Bannock blessing of the salmon, as well as a lecture presented by the association’s continuing lecture series, the Sawtooth Forum and Lecture Series, at the Stanley Museum with author Steve Hawley at 5 p.m. Hawley will also speak at the Redfish Visitor’s Center at 8 p.m. on Friday.
Hawley is an environmental journalist. In 2011, his book “Recovering a Lost River” was published by Beacon Press. It chronicles the issues surrounding and the actions needed to restore our wild salmon runs.
On Saturday, Aug. 24, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. enjoy live music by Hokum Hi-Flyers, Dan Costello, Blaze & Kelly and Steve Fulton, educational booths and salmon spawning tours, which are all free to the public. From 6-8 p.m. on Saturday, the Sawtooth Salmon Festival will serve its annual wild salmon dinner, which is $15 for adults and $10 for children.
The third annual Stanley Arts Festival will take place on the Stanley town green Friday, Aug. 23, and Saturday, Aug. 24, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival is a free event and includes live music and food booths.
For more information, visit www.discoversawtooth.org or call (208) 774-3376.
St. Luke’s resumes normal operations
St. Luke’s Wood River on Wednesday received official approval from fire officials to resume normal operations at the hospital and neighboring Physician Office Annex building. This includes the medical and surgical units, which had been limited since last Friday afternoon.
The mandatory evacuation order for much of the area surrounding the hospital (East Fork light north to the hospital bridge on the east side of the road) was lifted at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Fire officials had exempted the hospital from the mandatory evacuation zone on the west side of the highway.
“We would like to thank the community for their support and patience over the past week,” the hospital said in a prepared statement.
Transmission line back in service
Idaho Power crews finished repairs Tuesday on the transmission line between Hagerman and Hailey that was damaged in last weekend’s blow-up of the Beaver Creek Fire. It’s the last of the fire damage to be repaired. About 40 poles burned, despite vegetation being cleared in advance of the fire.
“The bases of many poles weren’t too badly burned, but when the wall of flames came through they didn’t stand a chance,” said Jim Bell, area leader.
In some instances, he said, all one could see is where a pole used to be, next to a pile of wire and insulators on the ground.
When that line was burned and taken out of service for three full days, an additional line that also serves Hailey was able to supply the necessary electricity. With the King line out, the entire Wood River Valley was served by a single transmission line until service was restored on the Hagerman-to-Hailey line.
The fire escalated in the Croy Canyon area west of Hailey on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 16 and 17, but is now under control in the area.