Fire chief on paid leave

ATHOL - The chief of the fire district where the Bayview-area fire is located is not battling the wildfire.

That's because Timberlake Fire Protection District Chief Kevin Kleinworth was placed on paid administrative leave Thursday by the district commissioners.

Kleinworth and commission Chairman Rudy Rudebaugh declined to comment on why the decision was made to place Kleinworth on leave, saying it's a pending personnel matter.

"Kevin Kleinworth is still an employee of the fire district," Rudebaugh said. "He is not a suspect in the (Bayview) fire."

The Cape Horn fire near Bayview was reported on Sunday.

Timberlake covers the Bayview and Athol areas.

Kleinworth, who has been at Timberlake for more than two years, has 27 years of wildland fire experience.

"That is one of the reasons why I believe I was a good pick for this area," he said. "Unfortunately, I'm not out there for this fire. This is what I live for."

But Kleinworth, 46, said it's difficult to say if his background would have made a difference with the current fire.

"I don't know if my expertise would have changed anything," he said.

Rudebaugh said it's unclear when a decision will be made regarding Kleinworth's future with the district.

Meanwhile, another Timberlake employee, Kody Wright, remains on paid administrative leave after a fire engine rollover on June 11 on Cape Horn Road near Bayview.

The crash occurred when the engine was returning non-code from a medical emergency. Wright was driving the rig, Rudebaugh said.

The other occupant of the engine, Brandon Hermenet, was earlier on paid administrative leave, but has returned to work, Rudebaugh said.

Both employees were evaluated at Kootenai Health after the rollover and released with no injuries.

Idaho State Police is investigating the cause of the accident.

Rudebaugh declined to comment if the engine rolled over onto one of its sides or its top.

"It's under investigation," he said.

The engine remains out of service and the district hadn't heard back from its insurance company as of Monday on the estimated amount of damage to the rig, Rudebaugh said.

"There will be no financial loss to the district as the accident is covered by insurance," Rudebaugh said.

Rudebaugh said the rollover accident had nothing to do with Kleinworth being placed on administrative leave.

Both Rudebaugh and Jim Lyon, a spokesman for the Northern Lakes Fire District who was the first public information officer for the Bayview fire, said Timberlake's engine being out of service had no bearing on the initial response to the Bayview fire.

The fire couldn't even be reached with an engine early on, Lyon said.

Rudebaugh added: "There were several backup engines. We didn't miss a beat with providing service to our constituents."