REGIONAL NEWS ROUNDUP: McCall’s St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church survives holiday fire

Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part two, with part one having appeared in Saturday’s Tribune.

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MCCALL — A Christmas Eve service at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in McCall nearly turned into a Christmas Day tragedy due to candles that were left burning overnight, according to McCall Fire and EMS.

Firefighters were called to the church at 1001 Gamble Road at 6:46 a.m. on Christmas morning after a group set to meet in the church opened the doors to find the building full of smoke, Fire Chief Garrett de Jong said.

The smoke was the result of a small fire that started from candles that were left burning after the church’s Christmas Eve service ended at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 24.

The candles eventually ignited a nearby wreath, which fell to the floor and caught the floor on fire. The fire then smoldered down before it could reach nearby straw and wood, de Jong said.

Once firefighters arrived, the stand on which the candles burned and other burning materials were taken outside of the church to be extinguished. Nobody was hurt in the fire, and damage to the church was minimal.

Jane Dykas, a member of the church’s congregation, said the church is baffled as to how a candle could have continued burning after being blown out and double-checked by several people after the Christmas Eve service ended.

Dykas called it a “miracle” that the church did not burn down, an assessment de Jong agreed with.

“We rarely see fire starts like this that don’t spread,” he said.

— Drew Dodson, The Star-News (McCall), Thursday

Bear cubs in rehab near McCall

Two yearling bear cubs are safe and sound at the Snowdon Wildlife Sanctuary near McCall after they were found by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

One cub was found Dec. 13 near Salmon, Idaho, wandering around on its own, leading Fish and Game to conclude that it had been orphaned and would not survive the winter without support.

The cub was transferred to the Snowdon facility the next day, where the it was assessed, fed and released into a small pen at the sanctuary, which is adjacent to a 2-acre bear enclosure. In the main enclosure is another cub, which was brought in by Fish and Game under similar circumstances in October.

They will spend the winter hibernating, foraging for food, climbing trees and playing until next summer when the cubs are healthy and strong enough to be released back into the wild, said Snowdon Registered Veterinary Technician and Wildlife Manager Alyssa Lakota.

“Both cubs were probably born in February,” Lakota said.

The 35-acre Snowdon sanctuary is located about 7 miles east of McCall on Lick Creek Road. The nonprofit rehabilitates injured and orphaned creatures so they can be released back into the wild. The center usually works with at least one bear, and upwards of 10 per year.

Snowdon, which is closed to the public, helps a wide variety of wild animals. The facility includes a flight barn for birds of prey, a barn for rehabilitating fawns, two bear enclosures, enclosures for small mammals and birds, a quarantine shed for sick animals, a clinic and two cabins.

Caring for wild animals is a delicate process, one that Lakota and her assistants carry out with caution.

“Our approach is as hands-off as possible since human interaction can set them up for failure, causing a potentially dangerous bear if habituated,” Lakota said.

“As soon as we can release them into our enclosures, the better,” she said. “We assess their health, deworm them, and monitor behavior with trail cams or cellphone cameras.”

Part of that hands-off approach includes resisting the urge to name the bear cubs.

“We do not name any animal when they arrive due to the ‘rehabbers curse,’ similar to saying Macbeth in a theater, it seems to cause bad luck,” Lakota said. “Every time an animal has been named, they regrettably have not survived or presented with a need to be humanely euthanized.

“This is not based on any scientific findings, it’s simply a weird phenomenon and many rehabbers steer clear of naming until they’ve been successfully released,” she said.

Naming a wild animal also creates a bond.

“We want to keep them as wild as possible,” Lakota said. “Some folks have named them, but I ask them not to tell me because of the curse. Call it crazy, but without fail, the curse has prevailed here and elsewhere.”

The recently captured bear was kept apart from the first arrival for a few days so the cubs could become accustomed to each other. Once they got acquainted, the bears were allowed to roam around the same enclosure.

Both have since worked on their hibernation skills, a behavior that comes naturally.

“We do not have to teach them to hibernate,” Lakota said. “So far, they have gathered their own leaves.… If we felt it would be beneficial, we would gather leaves and sticks and put them into a space where we suspect they would hibernate. They have options out there as to where they want to hunker down.”

The center plans to release the bears next summer, but an exact time and place have not been decided by Fish and Game.

Before being released, the bears will be tranquilized and undergo a health exam and any treatments that might be required. Their final health exam is also when vets determine whether the bears are male or female.

— Max Silverson, The Star-News (McCall), Thursday