Idaho Half-Staff Directive Honors Firefighter Joseph Wyatt Gates

Status checked November 7, 2026, at 10:22 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. Idaho’s official flag-status page continues to list both the U.S. and Idaho flags at half-staff.

Governor Brad Little issued the directive on November 5 to honor Joseph Wyatt Gates of Raft River, a firefighter who died in the line of duty in Cassia County. This is an update on an existing Idaho directive, not a new nationwide order.

When should flags return to full staff?

The governor’s announcement says the lowering began immediately and continues until the day following Gates’s memorial service. The service date and a specific return-to-full-staff time have not been supplied in the official sources checked for this update. Do not substitute an assumed sunset or calendar date.

The directive identifies U.S. and State of Idaho flags. Consult the governor’s November 5 announcement and the official Idaho flag-status page for subsequent instructions.

Displaying the U.S. flag at half-staff

When a flagpole permits half-staff display, raise the U.S. flag briefly to the top before lowering it to half-staff. Raise it to the top again before lowering it for the day. This procedure appears in 4 U.S.C. § 7(m).

Nov 7th 2026 Sydney S.

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