Evacuation order lifted as fire threat eases

OKANOGAN COUNTY, Wash. - A mandatory evacuation has been lifted for a wildfire that destroyed at least two homes and some outbuildings in north central Washington.

Incident information officer Chuck Johnson said most residents were being allowed to return to their homes Saturday.

He said the fire has burned across 6,200 acres northwest of Okanogan, but firefighters have made headway in containing it and protecting homes that had been threatened. He said moderate winds have helped keep the wildfire from spreading.

Portions of State Route 20 west of Okanogan was closed by smoke over the roadway.

The Red Cross has set up an evacuation center at Okanagon Middle School.

Firefighters responded Friday afternoon to the Okanogan-area fire, burning in heavy timber and open grasslands. The cause was unknown.

Sheriff's employees help

kids buy school clothes

TWIN FALLS - The employee association of the Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office in southern Idaho helped prepare children for school with a shopping spree at Walmart.

The officers shopped with children whose families have been served through the Crisis Center of Magic Valley, Inc.

The center offers shelter and support for people victimized by domestic or sexual violence.

The association covered $1,163.01 of the $1,213 bill, with Walmart paying the rest.

Foxes in Sun Valley

suffering from mange

KETCHUM, Idaho - State officials say residents feeding foxes in the resort area of central Idaho is likely increasing the fox population and contributing to the spread of mange among the small predator that roams the region.

Officials said the often fatal disease is ravaging the unusually dense population of foxes that live in and around Sun Valley.

Mange is caused by a tiny mite that burrows under an animal's skin, causing an infection that causes the fur to fall out.

Regan Berkley, a wildlife biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said the fox population in Sun Valley has exceeded normal population growth.

Lane County, Oregon,

tops in traffic deaths

EUGENE, Ore. - New data show Lane County had the highest number of traffic fatalities of any county in the state during 2008.

That comes despite a 23 percent drop in the numbers from 2007.

According to the state's recently released crash summary, 33 people died on the county's streets, roads and freeways in 2008. That's down from 43 in 2007 and 50 in 2006.

Multnomah and Washington counties each had 27 deaths and Clackamas County had 30. Those three counties are the state's most populous.

Associated Press