Category: kifi-local-news

Stephanie Lucas

CANYON COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) – Idaho Congressman Russ Fulcher brought federal and state officials together on January 31, 2025, to curtail the 2025 wildfire season after what he calls a “devastating” wildfire season in 2024. He gave an overview of the roundtable in an interview with Local News 8.

“Last year, we burned – and I say ‘we, the state of Idaho’ – right at a million acres of wildfire that that tragically went up in smoke all over the state.”

Fulcher, currently serving on the Natural Resources Committee in Congress, says he “could see writing on the wall,” for more fires in Idaho this year.

“I can see that the Forest Service in Idaho and the Department of Interior have about a billion dollars in what’s called ‘deferred maintenance,’ and that is projects and things that have been approved they need to do, but they don’t have the resources to do it.”

‘Deferred maintenance’ refers to the fuel load clearing that Fulcher says isn’t happening in Idaho’s forests. The ‘fuel’ is from brush, dead branches, and small trees that can ignite and intensify wildfires.

Fulcher says the Forest Service “is overwhelmed” with the amount of work that needs to be done, making this “an all hands on deck” situation – even if all the parties aren’t accustomed to working together.

“There’s some fiefdoms that are out there,” Fulcher told Local News 8. “The federal entities don’t like to work with state and local sometimes. And vice versa. It’s a two-way street. But part of my motivation was just to bring everybody together, have them look left and right at the table and say, you know what, we need each other If we’re going to prevent this from happening again.”

Fulcher says he thinks some progress was made during the roundtable with multiple organizations.

“If nothing else, there was some rapport that was kind of built-in, shared some faces that were attached to a name and an entity that, you know, it just helps when you are in the middle of a crisis – and this wildfire situation is a crisis.”

Fulcher thinks there will be more meetings between organizations – albeit in a different geographic region.

“That doesn’t necessarily adhere to state boundaries, nor should it,” Fulcher said. “The Panhandle, for example, has got a different management corps that oversees that. And so we’ll want to do that probably in some different geographies just because the state is so big. But the bottom line that I just need to drive home here, is we need to understand that our federal partners in this case, they really are overwhelmed.”

Watch Rep. Fulcher’s full interview above.

Noah Farley

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI)—Warmer temperatures have caused much of the snow to melt, leading to flooding in Idaho Falls and Blackfoot. That’s why some people are taking proactive measures to protect their homes and land from water.

In Blackfoot, Bingham County Public Works provides a sand pit for people to bring shovels and fill sandbags to battle the overflow.

The sand pit and bags are free to the public, but you must bring your shovels to fill the bags.

The sand pit is located at 690 W HWY 26 near the Central Transfer Station.

Seth Ratliff

ASHTON, Idaho (KIFI) – We’re just over a week away from the American Dog Derby in Ashton, the oldest dog sled race south of the Canadian border.

Originally founded in March 1917, race directors tell us they expect 1000 people to line the track in Ashton next week.

“In the musher world when they say they raced in Ashton, because it’s such a historic race, Their status goes up a little bit,” race director John Scafe told Local News 8. “That’s what everybody’s told me.”

Although the race is a more leisurely level of competition, for the teams themselves the training regiment is steep.

“Anything Else Melts Away”

Dog mushing, as a mode of travel, dates back to at least 6,000 B.C. Modern-day dog sledding crews, like the Cook family of Shelley, Idaho, proudly continue the tradition as both a sport and for fun.

“As soon as you pop that quick release that’s holding the sled back to our truck, anything else melts away and I can just focus,” said dog musher Savannah Cook. “I’m here, I’m running. It requires my presence and focus, and that’s all it matters in that moment.”

Savannah Cook always knew she wanted a dog but only stepped into her lifelong dream as a dog musher about 8 years ago. Tired of waiting at the finish line, her husband Mike now rides alongside with his own team.

“I forced us to get the last five dogs,” Mike Cook told Local News 8. “I said, ‘I’m tired of waiting at those at the lot. I’m going to go out too. So we need more dogs so that we can both run.'”

Overall, the Cooks say the experience is addictive.

“Anytime I see those snowflakes on the forecast, I’m like, oh yeah, let’s let’s go get some snow,” said Savannah.

On your mark, Get set, Mush!

The Cooks’ one-year-old dogs, the group Mike was adamant they get, just finished their first race at Wyoming’s Lone Trail Pass. But Savannah says they’ve always known their goal was to win the American Dog Derby.

“We always knew we would race it,” said Savannah. “Whether we’re competitive or we take the Red Lantern last place, we don’t care. We’re just there for it.”

Their team is set to run alongside up to 25 other dog-sledding groups along the two-day course.

The race kicks off on February 14, In Ashton. For more information, click HERE.

Ashley Chilcutt

REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) — Are you looking for an affordable way to spend Valentine’s Day? Evie Clair will be performing live on Feb. 14 at the Romance Theater.

For the first time, she’ll be joined on stage by The Union band. Clair and her accompanist, Stephen Henderson, came to the Local News 8 studio to promote the Valentine’s concert.

“Honestly, I am so excited for this show,” Clair said. “It’s really just a bunch of us friends getting together and playing music and jamming on the stage. We’re going to be doing some of my original songs and more originals from another member of the band.”

Clair began her music career at 13 years old. She gained a following on season 12 of America’s Got Talent, advancing to the top 10. She has since gone to college, gotten married, and had a little girl.

“Being on TV, releasing albums, and doing all the things is amazing, but being a mom is like the best job I could ever ask for,” Clair said.

More concert details are listed on the poster below. You can buy your ticket HERE.

Zach Glancy

BONNEVILLE COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) – Idaho Falls Fire Department responded to a farmhouse fire on the 6000 block of W 33d S in Bonneville County around 4:02 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Engine 5 arrived on the scene first and found the structure engulfed in flames. Firefighters quickly began work on controlling the blaze. They were able to get the flames out by about 5:30 a.m.

No human injuries were reported. The farmhouse was used to house chickens, but Local News 8 does not know if any of them were hurt so far.

IFFD had to call in a water tender to help provide water to the engines since the property is not near any fire hydrants.

The structure is a complete loss.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Curtis Jackson

POWER COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI)—Two people were taken to the hospital after a crash near the Pocatello airport Monday evening.

Idaho State Police said a 59-year-old Pocatello man driving a Chevy Traverse hit a motorcycle with 2 people on it while trying to turn onto Michaud Creek Road from East County Road.

The motorcycle’s two passengers, a 41-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman from Pocatello, were taken to the hospital. Both were wearing their seatbelts.

The accident happened around 5:30p on Monday, Feb. 3, 2024. The road was blocked for over 2 hours as emergency crews cleared the accident. 

The accident remains under investigation.

Seth Ratliff

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI)— The legal battle for Bingham County Republicans might come with some hefty costs. Attorney for the Idaho GOP, Bryan Smith, has filed a memorandum for the Bingham County Republican Central Committee (BCRCC) to pay his attorney’s fees.

Before the end of last year, the BCRCC filed a motion to dismiss their original lawsuit. The move came after a judge ruled that their 2023 election had broken party rules.

According to Smith, BCRCC chairman Matt Thompson is liable to pay those fees.

“Under Idaho law, a prevailing party is entitled to file a memorandum of attorney’s fees and costs. The state has, spent considerable for costs. I believe it’s $82,000 for attorney’s fees,” Smith said.

Local News 8 has reached out to members of the BCRCC for comment and received the following statement, “We cannot comment on an ongoing case until it is fully settled.”

The committee has until February 10th to file an objection or the fee decision will be held in court.

“A lot of money was spent unnecessarily, unreasonably.”

The bad blood between the State and Bingham County GOP began with a mismanaged election in June 2023.

Matt Thompson was elected to the chair before chairman Dan Cravens’ resignation took effect and without proper notice.

Bingham County resident Lisa Frost first notified the state party of the issue.

“We as Republicans should follow the rule of law and we should be transparent,” Frost told Local News 8. “I don’t think I’m asking a lot to have fair elections.”

State GOP leadership said the Bingham County Republicans did not follow party rules in their election and GOP chair Dorothy Moon would have to re-do the election.

In response, the Bingham County Republican Central Committee filed a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against state party leadership.

Last December, following nearly a year long legal battle, Moon met with the BCRCC to hold an new election. The county’s central committee once again elected Matt Thompson as chairman.

“It took literally less than 30 minutes, and the vote was 16, in favor of Matt Thompson, three against Matt Thompson,” Smith told Local News 8. “The outcome was never in dispute. A lot of money was spent unnecessarily, unreasonably.”

In addition to Bryan Smith’s potential fees, the BCRCC approved spending $10,000 to retain an attorney for their lawsuit.