Greg Foley

To the Express and its readers: Thank you In May 2002, I met with Pam Morris, the longtime publisher of the Idaho Mountain. Express, and the editor at the time, Ken Retallic, at The Kneadery restaurant in Ketchum to interview for a job in the newsroom. I was working as the news editor of a weekly newspaper on the California coast north of San Francisco and my wife and I were looking for a new start in the Rocky Mountains.

With the slow-moving Bench Lake Fire near Stanley now 58% contained, the Sawtooth National Recreation Area is moving to reopen the Redfish Lake recreation complex in phases today, July 26, through Tuesday, July 30. The popular recreation complex—including campgrounds and the Redfish Lake Lodge—was closed by emergency order earlier this month after the wildfire started in wilderness one mile west of Redfish Lake on July 11.

The Bench Lake Fire burning near Redfish Lake in Custer County continues to grow, with the size of the blaze recorded at 2,427 acres on Saturday morning, a U.S. Forest Service report stated. The fire on the west flank of Redfish Lake was reported at 2,037 acres on Friday. The wildfire was 8% contained on Saturday morning, the Sawtooth National Forest reported. Three helicopters, two water-scooping airplanes, 14 engines and 395 personnel are assigned to the firefighting effort.