BY KAREN BOSSICK

Avalanches and mountain lions, oh my! Nature is taking its course in the Wood River Valley.

The Sawtooth Avalanche Center has warned that Sunday and Monday’s massive warmup could lead to avalanches crossing roads and slamming into houses.

And Idaho Fish and Game officials have caught a mountain lion in a hen house.

The Sawtooth Avalanche Center on Monday warned that very dangerous avalanche conditions exist in the Wood River Valley and Galena Summit area as warm temperatures and high nighttime temperatures push meltwater into a dry snowpack.

Avalanches could be large enough to dam river and destroy a wood frame house, forecasters said.

Margaret Stewart said an avalanche slid just past the bridge near Penny Lake out Warm Springs on Sunday. It missed hitting a house by a foot, she added, and temporarily dammed Warm Springs Creek.

Several other avalanches could be spotted in the Ketchum area on Monday, including a large one that  slid on Griffin Butte near Hulen Meadows, leaving a slab four feet high.

Temperatures in Ketchum will cool to 52 degrees today from 58 on Monday, and they will cool further still to 44 degrees on Wednesday. But winds are expected to exceed 20 miles per hour.

Meanwhile, Idaho Fish and Game officials reported Monday that they caught a juvenile cougar in a chicken coup in Hailey’s Woodside subdivision near Alturas Elementary School Saturday night, April 8.

Residents called Blaine County Dispatch, saying they’d heard a disturbance. After spotting the cougar in the coop with their chickens, they closed the door to the enclosure trapping the lion.

Officers tried to find an accredited zoo that would take the lion but could not due to the lateness of the hour. So, they euthanized the lion.

Officials euthanized a mother lion and her young one a month ago after they appeared to become too comfortable in their Hailey digs, even hissing at one homeowner. A second young lion that had been spotted with those two evaded the traps they set out.

Idaho Fish and Game has received more than 85 reports of mountain lions in Wood River Valley neighborhoods since October 2022, with a significant number of them in Hailey.

Residents should close all doors to barns, backyard sheds and structures like chicken coops so cougars cannot gain access to those spaces, said Terry Thompson, regional communications manager for Idaho Department of Fish and Game Magic Valley Region. Block areas under decks so lions cannot access those spaces for a day bed, he added.

Immediately report a wildlife incident to the Magic Valley Regional Office at 208-324-4359 or to the local law enforcement.

• NEVER run away from a mountain lion. The lion’s instinct is to chase and ultimately catch what they perceive as potential prey.
• NEVER turn your back on a lion. Always face them while making yourself look as large as you can. Yell loudly, but don’t scream. A high-pitched scream may mimic the sound of a wounded animal.
• SLOWLY back away while maintaining eye contact with the lion. 
• When walking or hiking, safety equipment to carry could include a cannister of bear spray, a noise device like an air-horn, and if you walk in the dark, a very bright flashlight.
• If you are attacked, fight back!