Rain eases the pain

COEUR d’ALENE — It wasn’t a deluge, but over the last two days, the Coeur d’Alene area received 10 times the amount of rain that’s fallen almost all summer.

Press meteorologist Randy Mann reported .59 inches of precipitation in Coeur d’Alene from Sunday into Monday. For all of July and August, just ,06 inches of rain was recorded in the Lake City. The moisture, along with cooling temperatures, is having some other welcome effects.

Agencies responsible for managing public lands and providing wildfire protection in the region announced fire restrictions will be lifted for North Idaho on Friday, in time for the holiday weekend. All open burning has been restricted, including campfires, since earlier this month.

“While the cooler temperatures and precipitation no longer warrant extreme fire danger, the public is urged to be careful with fire,” said a news release.

Fire danger continues to be rated “high” across the Idaho Panhandle.

In other good news, the air quality has improved. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality announced Monday that it has lifted its air pollution advisory. Air quality in the area is now considered “good.”