Idaho governor tours Cape Horn fire

Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter toured the Cape Horn fire today, surveying the damage done by the 1,155-acre blaze near the lakeside town of Bayview. “Whenever we have a crisis in Idaho, it’s everybody’s crisis,” Otter said. The tour started aboard an Idaho National Guard Blackhawk helicopter. Although heavy smoke obscured views, Otter watched helicopters drop water on the smoldering hillside. “Still some pretty good hotspots up there,” he said. “And from what I know about fire management, it’s pretty tough to fight because it’s very, very steep and it’s going uphill. An aerial attack, as long as you have the visibility, is about the only way you’re going to get that.” Fire officials then briefed Otter in the incident command tent. Bob Fry, incident commander spoke about the initial role community firefighters played. He acknowledged long-term effects the fire will have on residents, like erosion and tree falls. “They’re going to live with those hazards all summer,” Fry said. Otter then spoke briefly at a press conference held in the dry, dusty fields of incident command, before touring the area east of Bayview where the fire burned six homes early this week and threatened dozens more. Otter urged homeowners to keep brush and trees near homes trimmed. “Trim the threat,” he said, adding later, “Make that tree that you like, that’s been around forever, that your granddad planted, make that part of your defensible space.” On the ground tour Otter stopped and surveyed one of the homes that burned, chatting briefly with Bill Steele, a volunteer training chief for the Timberlake Fire District. Steele said initially the owner of the burned home couldn’t be located. Turns out she was in the hospital. “I know who does the work, it’s the firefighters,” Fry said. “They did a hell of a job going in there.” The Cape Horn fire started mid-day Sunday. As of today it’s 40 percent contained and no longer actively threatening homes. Homeowners were allowed back into their homes today. However, containment lines still need strengthening, officials said. More than 300 firefighters are still on the scene. On Monday, Otter declared the Kootenai and Bonner counties a disaster emergency area.