More than 150 firefighters are battling the 800-acre Church Canyon Fire near Kamiah.

As of Monday morning, the lightning-caused blaze was about 40 percent contained. It was first reported on Thursday, as it burns about three miles southeast of Kamiah.

Firefighters are reinforcing the existing fire line, while hand crews are working to extend the line along the blaze’s western edge. Helicopters and air tankers are dropping water on the fire as needed.

The Idaho Department of Lands is leading the effort, with help from firefighters from the Glenwood Caribell, Kooskia, Kamiah, Harpster and Sunnyside volunteer fire departments. (AP)

University of Idaho students who are among those fighting wildland and forest fires across the West this summer can request a delayed return to classes.

Fire season continues into the early fall, past the start of the UI’s academic year Aug. 25.

As has been the case for many years, students need to contact the Registrar’s Office, which in turn will e-mail the information to their instructors, university housing, financial aid, student accounts and the Dean of Students Office.

If a student decides not to return for the semester, tuition and fees are refunded.

Last year, 13 students delayed their return to campus due to the severe fire season.

Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff joined Interior Secretary and former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne in Boise this week to tour the National Interagency Fire Center.

The two Cabinet members were at the center on Wednesday to learn more of how the center goes about coordinating national firefighting efforts throughout the West and nation.

While Idaho has had almost no fire activity this year, California has seen a slew of wildfires tear through that state, destroying homes and prompting mass evacuations. Last year, 2.5 million acres across the U.S. were burned by wildfires, including 1.9 million acres in Idaho. So far this year, about 400,000 acres have been charred, but officials say the California wildfire season started a month earlier this year and they expect it to be a very bad fire season.

Chertoff, who was making his first ever visit to Idaho, and Kempthorne also toured the Wildland Firefighters Monument. (Idaho Statesman, KTVB, KBCI)

The Lewiston City Council has signed off on a temporary agreement to provide fire protection for Potlatch’s mill, which is located just outside city limits.

Under the deal, Potlatch will pay the city $20,000 for two months of fire protection, plus another $10,000 each time the city fire department is called to the site. The previous mutual aid agreement expired the last day of July, and officials hope the interim contract will provide enough time to reach a permanent agreement before the new deal expires Sept. 30.

Both sides will meet again in two weeks.

The Nez Perce Tribe has issued a reservation-wide burn ban due to wildfire smoke and an air quality advisory.
Air quality in the region is currently in the “moderate” range and could pose potential problems for sensitive groups of people -which includes infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with existing health conditions or chronic diseases such as asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, heart disease or diabetes.
Under the burn ban, no EPA-Nez Perce Tribal burn permits will be approved and camping and recreational fires are also prohibited. Tribal officials will reassess conditions Thursday morning.

Police are still looking for a Moscow man wanted in connection to last month’s suspicious house fire in Harvard that left his mother dead.

Authorities say Dallas Dale Strunk, 56, is suspected to have been involved with the July 8 fire at his parents home on Quartz Creek Road.  Linda Strunk, 88, died, though investigators are not releasing the exact cause of death.  Dallas Strunk’s burned-out car was found several days later in Shoshone County.

In 2005 Strunk faced charges of arson, including an alleged attempt to burn his parents’ home – in that case he pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree arson.

Strunk is described as 6-foot-1, 200 pounds with brown/grey hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact the Latah County Sheriff’s Office at (208) 882-2216, or the Idaho Department of Correction Fugitive Unit at (208) 334-3190, ext 29.

No injuries were reported after a fire at the Potlatch lumber mill in Lewiston burned log waste processing equipment and nearby waste late Saturday night.

Neither the mill equipment nor logs were hit by the fire that started after 10 p.m. between the log deck area and Mill Road, burning east of the main mill facility. The fire was contained after midnight.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Agricultural field burning could resume in Idaho as early as September under a rule to be published Friday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As part of the official request for EPA to approve the action, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality conducted a detailed analysis that demonstrated that the revised plan satisfied federal Clean Air Act requirements.

EPA Environmental Scientist Mike McGown says DEQ’s management plan meets federal standards and takes into account the concerns of both clean air advocates and agricultural interests.

EPA Environmental Scientist Mike McGown comments

Mary Anderson, Idaho DEQ Smoke Management Coordinator says several new requirements have been implemented in the new burning plan.

Mary Anderson, Idaho DEQ Smoke Management Coordinator comments

Burn days will be limited to weekdays during daylight hours only – usually from 10am to 4pm. Burning on weekends and holidays is prohibited.

To register visit DEQ’s website at www.deq.idaho.gov. For additional information contact the DEQ Office in Boise at (208) 373-0502.