Lewiston City Council approves continuance of local disaster declaration for Hatway Road fire

The Lewiston City Council voted unanimously to approve Resolution 2025-30, consenting to the continuance of the June 12, 2025, declaration of a local disaster emergency related to the Hatway Road fire.

The action extends the mayor's seven-day emergency declaration so the city can finish incident accounting and pursue potential reimbursement from the state or third parties, Council members said during the meeting.

Council members and staff discussed whether any structures burned inside the city limits, the jurisdictional boundaries where the fire occurred, and how the city responded. City surveyor Mark Wigan told council members that when the nearby property was annexed the city limits were set at "the north right-of-way of Pathway Road," which includes a small portion of the burned area. Wigan said there were no structures lost within the portion of the fire that lies inside the city.

The mayor (name not specified in the transcript) explained the legal and administrative reason for the council vote: "When the mayor signs a declaration of local disaster emergency, it's only good for seven days. So we have to meet within that seven days, and then council has to vote whether or not to continue the declaration or not." The mayor said approving the resolution would preserve the city's eligibility to seek reimbursement from the state or a third party if that becomes available.

Council discussion also covered operational issues during the response. City staff said Lewiston Fire Department personnel self-dispatched to the incident because, at the time, the city did not have a mutual-aid agreement with the county for fire protection. The city's Standard Operating Procedure 503, first developed in the 1990s and revised in recent years, instructs the fire department to respond to life-threatening incidents within the city's area of impact. The transcript records that the county's emergency management coordinator was out of state and that Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) later assumed incident command; city resources were reported to have cleared the scene about 1:30 a.m.

Councilor Schroeder moved to approve the resolution; Councilor Wright seconded. The motion passed on a roll-call vote with all voting council members recorded as "Aye": Council President Coogert; Councilor Stuttelmeyer; Councilor Forster; Councilor Schrodert; Councilor Wright; and Councilor Klein. The resolution is recorded as Resolution 2025-30.

City staff noted that any reimbursement the city receives for the response would be deposited into the general fund and used to cover salaries, equipment, fuel and other response costs. The council did not take additional action beyond consenting to the continuance of the declaration.

The meeting concluded with routine adjournment procedures.