<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr">Courtesy of today’s Moscow-Pullman Daily News . . .<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div><div>————————————————-</div><div><br></div><div><h1 itemprop="headline" class="headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 42px; margin: 0px 100px 0px 0px; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.1; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Fire on the mountain</span></h1><h2 itemprop="alternativeHeadline" class="subhead" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.1; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 10px 100px 10px 0px; font-size: 24px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Residents evacuated, structures destroyed north of Moscow</span></h2></div><div><br></div><div><ul class="list-inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; list-style: none; margin-left: -5px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"><span itemprop="author" class="tnt-byline" style="box-sizing: border-box;">By Anthony Kuipers Daily News staff writer</span></li></ul></div><div><br></div><div><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">Crews from across the Palouse worked Monday afternoon and into the night to battle a wildfire that destroyed structures and threatened at least 20 residences near the base of Moscow Mountain.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">Michael McManus, incident commander for the Idaho Department of Lands, said buildings had been lost in the blaze but could not confirm if they were residences. Late Monday, he estimated the fire had grown to 150-200 acres.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">McManus said he has not heard any reports of injuries to people or livestock.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">Homes near Idlers Rest Road, West Twin Road and Moscow Mountain Road were evacuated.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">The fire began at approximately 1:30 p.m. near Idlers Rest Road and spread to Moscow Mountain Road.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">There were 100-120 emergency personnel on the scene, two helicopters and five air tankers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">The cause of the fire is undetermined. It was primarily affecting private land and was zero percent contained as of Monday night.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">The wind Monday caused “rough conditions” for the firefighters, McManus said. The forecast showed wind continuing into today.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">Despite the conditions, McManus remained optimistic.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">“Fire’s looking pretty good right now,” he said. “We’re holding our own, definitely.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">He asked the public to respect any road closures near the fire and stay out of the area.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">The fire is affecting fields and timber. Idlers Rest Nature Preserve, which features popular hiking trails, is threatened but has not been impacted by the flames, McManus said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">Fire departments from Moscow, Pullman, Troy, Palouse, Potlatch and Whitman County Rural Fire districts were among those on the scene Monday. Fire engines from the Lewis-Clark Valley also arrived in Moscow, McManus said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">Helicopters were dropping water from nearby ponds onto the flames. Onlookers parked their cars on top of hills and on roads just north and east of Moscow to get a good look at the smoke rising from the mountain.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">Officials from the Red Cross on Monday invited residents displaced by the blaze to the Latah County Fairgrounds for temporary shelter.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">No one had taken the Red Cross up on the offer of temporary shelter at the fairgrounds as of about 7:30 p.m., according to Red Cross Disaster Program Specialist Autumn Gibson.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 20.25pt; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">If evacuees show up in need of somewhere to sleep, she said they will open the evacuation shelter and get food for dinner and breakfast. Residents can call<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b><span style="color: rgb(6, 69, 173);">(800) 272-6668</span></b></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>for assistance.</span></p></div><div>————————</div><div><br></div><div>Photos . . .</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/MMF_083021_01.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/MMF_083021_01.jpg</a></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/MMF_083021_02.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/MMF_083021_02.jpg</a></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/MMF_083021_03.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/MMF_083021_03.jpg</a></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/MMF_083021_04.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/MMF_083021_04.jpg</a></div><div><br></div><div>————————————————<br><br><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">http://www.MoscowCares.net</span></div><div><br></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><br></div><div>“A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met.”</div><div>- Roy E. Stolworthy</div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>