MOSCOW, Idaho — As KREM 2 continues coverage on Friday's wind storm, the high winds have caused a bit of a road bump for those looking to enjoy homecoming weekend at the University of Idaho.
Gusts were pretty strong outside of the ICCU Arena on campus Friday afternoon. The strong winds are the reasons why homecoming organizers have had to change all of their plans, quite literally overnight.
Because of the Red Flag Warning that was put into place for the Palouse, outdoor homecoming activities on Friday were either canceled or postponed for the day.
The university updated the community on its website saying the state fire marshal has revoked permits for the bonfire and fireworks show that was supposed to happen after their serpentine event, just to be safe.
The Tap-the-Keg Oktoberfest has been postponed and the Vandal Rally was moved inside the ICCU Arena.
Marie Duncan, the senior director of alumni programming and operations and also a third-generation Vandal, said that while the Red Flag Warning is out of her hands, she still feels sad for those not getting to fully experience these traditions.
"I feel most for the students that were affected by this," Duncan said. "You know, they get four years of the fun traditional homecoming experience, and to lose one of those is devastating in the moment, but it would be horrible to not make the call and have a bad situation later on."
Duncan said these traditions have been going on since 1909 and have been in the works since January of this year. Duncan said this weekend was about 90% planned by students, and she is grateful for the student body and community's support through the changes.
While Friday didn't pan out how as they hoped, spirits are still high on campus. Activities planned for Saturday are not affected as of now.