EDITORIAL: Now showing: North Idaho Spirit
This show is so good, we’re listing the full credits first.
Avista Utilities
City of Post Falls Departments (Parks, Recreation, Public Works, Streets, Police)
Idaho Department of Lands
Idaho State Police
Kootenai County 911 Dispatch Center
Kootenai County Emergency Management
Kootenai County Fire & Rescue
Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office
Post Falls Police Department
Post Falls Highway District
U.S. Forest Service
There are even more protagonists in this action thriller — many Post Falls businesses and individuals who helped in a variety of ways — but it's time to open the curtains on the show itself.
The Parkway Fire, which posed a tremendous threat to Post Falls persons and property last weekend, was controlled and quashed before Mother Nature could muster the worst from her menacing arsenal. The attack on the fire came from the ground…
“From the moment the Parkway Fire was discovered, it was all hands on deck,” said Idaho Department of Lands incident commander Nate Rogers, who then credited the agencies above for immediate — and massive — response.
And the assault on the blaze also came from the air…
“Heavy air attack played a pivotal role in giving firefighters the time and physical space they needed to save structures,” Rogers added. “Aircraft provided by the U.S. Forest Service in the first hours of the attack were especially helpful.”
Post Falls City Administrator Shelly Enderud watched the blaze spread “with incredible speed” from 2.5 acres to a much larger inferno. She saw flames jumping trees — and the almost immediate response of four helicopters engaging the fire.
With Mayor Ron Jacobson watching from the Slab Inn parking lot, the choppers’ timely but inadequate efforts were quickly supplemented by seven planes. That 11-aircraft punch didn’t knock the blaze out, but it stopped it in its tracks so the ground team had time and space to work.
“I have never seen anything like that,” a still astonished — and impressed — Mayor Jacobson told The Press on Tuesday.
Enderud and Jacobson both raved about something good that emerged from the potential disaster. As Enderud explained it, the Parkway Fire forced cancellation of the city’s weekend triathlon, but that wasn't the end of that segment of the show.
“Most of the people registered told us to keep their registration fee and even a few of the sponsors are telling us to keep the funds as they knew most of the money for set-up and materials have already been expended,” she said. “The food for the event was donated to the firefighters.“
Ladies and gentlemen of North Idaho, you’ve been treated to an instant classic, a documentary on the extraordinary people surrounding you. Post Falls is blessed with an abundance of superb leaders, dedicated public servants and active, caring, courageous and compassionate citizens.
Please never forget: When we work together, even Mother Nature can’t keep us down.