Ketchum Police Community Service Officer Wes Whitesell

What should you do if you see a dog in a car on one of these 90-degree summer days? In Ketchum, call the police. Not only will they respond, but they will have specific authority to remove an endangered pet if the City Council passes a proposed ordinance at its meeting on Monday, July 6, at 5:30 p.m.

Police have received more than 20 calls so far this year about dogs being locked in cars in hot weather, Police Chief David Kassner said. The ordinance is needed because Idaho law fails to give police explicit authority to enter a vehicle when an animal appears to be in danger.

Currently, if the department receives a call about an animal in possible danger, an officer will go to the vehicle and attempt to find the owner. The officer will enter the vehicle only if the animal appears to be in immediate danger, but will remain by the vehicle until the owner returns to discuss the situation.

The proposed ordinance would give officers legal authority to remove an animal, as well as guidelines calling for removal if the animal is frothing at the mouth or appears to be unable to move.

"Usually, it's lack of education," Community Service Officer Wes Whitesell said. "People don't realize how quickly vehicles heat up."

For example, he aimed the department's scanner last week at the interior of a car that had been left in the sun in 84-degree weather for an hour last week. The scanner registered a temperature of 141 degrees on the front seat.

Although the department receives dozens of calls each summer, Ketchum police recall only one incident in which they entered a car, using a special device to unlock the door, to save a dog because they were unable to reach the owner. In this case, Kassner said, the owner was very happy that police had intervened. In all other cases, they have been able to locate owners before the situation became critical.

The proposed ordinance calls for a $100 fine for a first offense and a $250 fine for  a subsequent offense if a person leaves "a companion animal unattended in a standing or parked vehicle in a manner or under conditions that endanger the animal's safety or health."

It gives police the authority to "use reasonable force under the above circumstances to enter a vehicle and remove the companion animal after first making a reasonable attempt to contact the animal's owner. The officer removing the animal shall use reasonable means to contact the owner of the companion animal to arrange for its return home. Absent contact with the owner, the animal will be taken to a veterinary clinic if emergency care is needed and after a reasonable amount of time to the Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley."  

"We expect the ordinance to pass, and we hope that other communities and the state legislature will follow our lead," Mayor Nina Jonas said.

Ketchum police are hoping to see no violations of fireworks laws for the second year in a row, Ketchum Police Chief David Kassner said.

"After two major forest fires in recent years, people are realizing the dangers of aerial fireworks, which are illegal in Idaho," he added. "We used to write 10 to 15 citations a year. Last year was the first Fourth I remember when we saw no violations."

Nevertheless, he said the department intends to continue its aggressive stance against illegal fireworks, and a new state law will make it easier to enforce laws prohibiting aerial fireworks.

The city's roadside electric signboards also are reminding people of the danger from fireworks. "We've received lots of good comments about the one with the message, 'Don't be that guy,'" he said.

Violators now can be charged with an infraction, rather than a misdemeanor, making it easier for officers to write citations, he said. The fine for a violation is a fixed fee of $154.50, while the fine for a misdemeanor is up to the judge in each case.

All firecrackers and aerial fireworks are illegal in Ketchum. Fireworks also are illegal if they emit sparks that go more than 20 feet in the air or travel outside a circle 15 feet in diameter. This means that bottle rockets, "jumping jacks" and similar products, as well as aerial fireworks, are illegal for personal use.

It is legal to celebrate with sparklers, smoke bombs, "snakes," ground spinners and fountains less than 20 feet high.

However, if a fire starts because of fireworks, the person responsible may be held liable for damages.

Fireworks are not the only danger, of course. A discarded cigarette started a quarter-acre fire along the Wood River Trail just north of the bridge near St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center Monday. Ketchum firefighters were able to bring it under control quickly, thanks to their summertime procedure of staging a brush fire truck at City Hall.

Ketchum firefighters also responded to calls of unattended campfires left smoldering in Corral Creek and the Warm Springs area this week. They were able to extinguish both before they spread.

"There is a large amount of cottonwood seed this year because of the heavy May rains," Fire Chief Mike Elle said. "Cottonwood seed burns very easily and spreads fire rapidly across the ground. This year an errant spark from a cigarette or a firework could start a large fire very easily, and we are urging people to be especially careful."

Open burning is illegal in Ketchum and nearby areas until further notice because of dry conditions and record high temperatures. 

Details on the law in Ketchum are at http://ketchumidaho.org/index.aspx?NID=166.