Coeur d'Alene boy, 5, honored for helping stop brush fire

Everest Thomson was 5 when he helped neighbors stop a brush fire before it reached nearby homes in Coeur d'Alene, and the city turned that close call into a public honor at Tuesday’s council meeting. Fire Chief Jon Fugitt and Capt. Dylan Clark presented Everest with a Citizen Award, recognizing a kindergartner whose fast response helped keep a small blaze from becoming a larger threat.

The recognition was listed on the City of Coeur d'Alene’s June 16 council agenda as a “Presentation - Citizen Award to Everest Thomson,” with Fugitt and Clark named as presenters. A photo from the meeting showed Fugitt shaking Everest’s hand and thanking him for his efforts, a small but visible moment that put the child’s role in front of city leaders and the public.

Clark said Everest showed responsibility beyond his years and credited the boy’s prompt response with helping ensure the situation was handled quickly. In a city where brush fires can move fast through dry grass and timber, that kind of attention matters as much as speed. The award also gave the Thomson family and neighbors a public moment of recognition after an incident that could have ended very differently.

The story lands at a sensitive time for North Idaho fire crews and residents. Idaho Department of Lands says fire restrictions are a critical tool during periods of very high or extreme fire danger, and those rules apply to all lands within a designated area regardless of ownership. Kootenai County Fire & Rescue says it operates five fire stations across its response area, with four staffed seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

The county department also offers burn permit applications based on fire danger, along with an emergency alert program for major forest fires, evacuations and other emergencies. Those basics of wildfire preparedness are often what separate a manageable fire from a neighborhood problem, especially in the dry stretches of summer.

The region’s fire memory is still raw. On June 29, 2025, a brush fire response on Canfield Mountain in Coeur d'Alene turned deadly when firefighters were ambushed, killing Coeur d'Alene Fire Department Battalion Chief John Morrison and Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Frank Harwood. Against that backdrop, Everest’s award stood out for a different reason: it showed how quickly one child’s decision, backed by neighbors, can help protect a block and remind a community how much vigilance still matters.