Canal Gates Swing Shut as Irrigation Season Wraps Up
Paris, ID · October 11, 2026
Rain is drumming steadily across valley rooftops this morning, bringing a damp shift that will keep the woodstoves burning all day. Settle in with a warm mug while ditch riders make their final autumn rounds outside.
The Lead
Crews and local ditch riders are making their final rounds along Paris Creek and the valley’s canal network this weekend, pulling headgates and draining laterals as the 2026 irrigation season draws to a close. With upper Bear River flows dropping below 45 cubic feet per second, PacifiCorp and regional canal companies have begun winding down diversions to protect infrastructure from freezing temperatures and allow channel beds to dry before winter.
For local shareowners and smallholders, the annual shut-off shifts weekend chores toward winterizing property lines: clearing accumulated weed growth from screens, disconnecting siphon tubes, and boarding up personal diversion boxes. Delivery levels across neighborhood ditches will recede to a trickle over the next forty-eight hours. Ditch riders will complete final gate closures along the lower bench by Tuesday afternoon, leaving culverts cleared well ahead of winter snow.
Today's Outlook
- High 61°F · Low 45°F — Rain (92% chance of precipitation)
- Keep a sturdy umbrella and raincoat handy all day as steady showers roll through.
What's On Around Town
Tuesday
- Bear Lake County Commissioners Meeting Bear Lake County Courthouse (30 N Main St), 9:00 AM
- School Board Regular Meeting Bear Lake School District Office (39 Fielding Rd), 5:30–6:30 PM
Spotlight & Story
- Bear Lake Market
- Built in 1890 for J.R. Shepherd’s mercantile operations, this brick storefront supplied dry goods and bolt fabric after the cooperative era faded. Today, the leaded-glass mezzanine windows still catch the morning light above aisles of antiques and parlor pizzas.
Paris Daily Digest — compiled from local sources as of 6 AM. For breaking updates, follow your local newsrooms.
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