STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Sun Valley Culinary Institute is serving up some gourmet chuckwagon grub during a Wagon Days Open House from 5 to 7:30 p.m. tonight—Friday, Aug. 30.

The open house, at 211 N. Main St., is timed to dovetail with tonight’s Gallery Walk through Ketchum art galleries.

The Institute is about to embark on its third year of teaching aspiring chefs the secrets to knife handling, deboning chickens and more. This year 10 students are set to put on their kitchen coats when September rolls around.

The Culinary Institute also serves up special sit-down and take-out meals, as well as food enthusiast cooking classes featuring instructors from throughout the United States.

CULINARY INSTITUTE NEEDS YOUR HELP TO SUPPORT FIREFIGHTERS

The Sun Valley Culinary Institute and other local groups are preparing meals to deliver to volunteer firefighters battling the Wapiti Fire, which is threatening Stanley.

Wood River Valley residents are asked to drop off nutritious, unopened, single-serving food donations at the Institute. They will be transported with the breakfast casserole that the SVCI’s new chef instructor is preparing for firefighters.

Donations for the firefighters may be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-stanley-fire-and-stanley-ambulance-volunteers.

The lightning-caused Wapiti Fire grew from about 79,000 acres to 89,714 acres on Thursday as firefighters continue to battle up-slope and up-canyon winds and extreme dry conditions. It is zero contained.

The 978 firefighters on the scene conducted a successful backburn northwest of the Bull Trout Lake area, tying the fire line into Highway 21 and an old fire scar to protect the campground there and prevent the fire from moving further north. Unfortunately, there was a potential for large fire growth on Thursday.

The Custer County Sheriff allowed residents of Lower Stanley and the Gateway community to return to their homes as the threat to those areas lessened, but the evacuation status in those communities is at "Set," meaning be ready to leave at a moment's notice.