Generosity of Idahoans fills the need – Donations of water and sports drinks no longer needed

Monday August 30, 2021

(Coeur d’Alene) Thanks to the generosity of the public, the Coeur d’Alene Interagency Fire Cache is well supplied with water and sports drinks with electrolytes, and no additional donations are needed.

The wildfire season hit early this year and the cache found it difficult to find adequate supplies of water and sports drinks for the firefighters working the wildfires. Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) set up a “Donations to the Fireline” webpage and the public quickly went to work providing the needed drinks.

“Our wildland firefighters have faced a season of unprecedented heat and fire conditions,” said Governor Brad Little. “What makes Idaho great is its people and their willingness to step up and fill a need, in this case making sure our firefighters had the supplies they needed to withstand those conditions.”

Donations included 12.5 pallets and 63 cases of water, 1 pallet and 28 cases of sports drink, 31 boxes of Liquid IV, and a few other miscellaneous items to keep our firefighters hydrated on the fireline. IDL also received the use of a refrigerated truck.

This is the first year IDL faced shortages and needed donations. It required developing a system internally to organize and receive the donations from citizens.

“I want to recognize the hard work of the staff that went the extra mile to make sure our firefighters would receive the much needed fluids on the fireline,” said Director Dustin Miller. “Katherine Christensen, Abigayle Ford from the IDL Coeur d’Alene staff office and Fire Cache manager Bjorn Jordan stepped up to develop a system allowing the process to work smoothly and successfully both for those donating and for the firefighters.”

Idaho Department of Lands would like to thank the following for their generosity:

  • Costco - Coeur d’Alene
  • Walmart - Hayden
  • Heather Rogers, Patriot Insurance - Lewiston
  • Mr. & Mrs. Wood
  • Kathy
  • Guy St. Louis, Kindred Concierge Services - Coeur d’Alene
  • Granite Enterprises- Rathdrum
  • Tevis Hull - Sagle
  • Westmond Ward of Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints - Cocolalla
  • Eric Wayde, NAPA – Coeur d’Alene
  • Derrell Hartwick, Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce - Coeur d’Alene
  • Sandra Murdock - Athol
  • Jill Crocker, Oakridge Independent Living Senior Center - Coeur d’Alene
  • Dennis Cunningham, Active West Builders - Coeur d’Alene
  • Kathy Goodwin, St. Pius Catholic Church Outreach - Coeur d’Alene
  • Mark Langhans - Post Falls
  • Ron & Sherri Metzler - Hayden
  • Harper & Jonah King - Hayden
  • Steel Structures of America Inc. - Post Falls
    • Shawn Sternberg, Owner
    • Leah Randall, CFO
    • Michael Piper
    • Shandy Bauer
    • Holly Horton
  • David Schnoll & Janet Single-Schnoll - Coeur d’Alene

Those still wishing to donate should consider their local volunteer fire departments or the Wildland Firefighter Foundation which focuses on helping the families of firefighters killed in the line of duty and assisting injured firefighters and their families.