Areas of Latah County left unprotected from fire

March 07--A log house 16 miles outside of Kendrick burned to the ground Monday night, leaving little more than ash where the home used to be.

The fire was reported at about 9:30 p.m. to the Latah County Sheriff's Office. Forty minutes later, deputies were first on the scene. It was nearly an hour before the first firefighters -- belonging to the Evergreen Fire Department from Clearwater County -- arrived.

By then, the only thing left to do was monitor the fire to ensure it didn't spread to additional structures or the surrounding land.

While Kendrick has a fire department that serves the area within city limits, the home on the 1100 block of Red Willow Road fell outside of that boundary line. In fact, the area of the home does not fall in the boundaries of any fire district.

In any case, Kendrick Volunteer Fire Department Chief Val Norris said his department was notified of the fire and it sent four firefighters to the scene to assist the Evergreen Fire Department, even though his department does not have rural structure capabilities and is not equipped to respond to residents outside of the district.

The only person in the home at the time of the fire suffered minor burns to her hands, feet, back and shoulder, according to the LCSO. She was transported to the hospital by a private vehicle.

Agency assists in such situations are not uncommon. However, taxpayers who fund fire departments in their own districts are left paying for the used resources.

In 2003 and 2005, Kevin Renfrow, who works for the South Latah Highway District, was a part of a committee that tried to pass a joint rural fire department that would have included Juliaetta and Kendrick and a corner of Nez Perce County. Renfrow said the area surrounding Juliaetta and Kendrick is among the only portions of Latah County not protected by a rural fire district.

In 2003, Nez Perce County approved the proposed fire district, but it failed to pass in Latah County by nine votes, Renfrow said. The committee reorganized in 2005 and tried a second time to pass the proposal. Again it was approved in Nez Perce County, but it failed in Latah County by 32 votes.

In 2005, the proposed tax increase was 80 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, after a homeowner's $50,000 exemption was deducted.

According to the Latah County Planning, Building and GIS Department fire district map, Moscow, Troy, Deary, Potlatch, Genesee and Bovill all have rural fire departments that extend beyond their city limits.

The Idaho Department of Lands and the Clearwater-Potlatch Timber Protective Association protect nearly a million acres of land in the north-central area of Idaho, which includes the timber and farmland in the Juliaetta-Kendrick area. Neither organization, however, respond to residential fires. C-PTPA employee Cameron Eck said the association's personnel are not trained to extinguish structure fires -- only wildland blazes.

Latah County Planning, Building and GIS Senior Planner Mauri Knott said insurance and lender rates may also be higher for those who aren't under the protection of a fire district. Knott said her department can issue building permits to any designated buildable lot in the county, but an ordinance restricts the number of people who can build residential homes in a certain area to four if they are not protected by a fire district. Knott said this is to make sure subdivisions are not formed and the population density is kept low in unprotected areas.

Latah County Elections Deputy Clerk Victoria Shortt said County Commissioners have discussed a joint rural department, but no formal legal actions have been taken to form one.

Katie Short can be reached at (208) 883-4633, or by email to kshort@dnews.com.

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