An expert in restoring antiquities last week advised state officials how to save precious financial documents damaged by the New Year's Day fire in the Idaho State Capitol.
But state Historical Society Director Ken Swanson says his agency has not been contacted about preventing the destruction of precious paintings and artifacts in the Statehouse, and this week may be too late to save them.Legislative Budget Office Director John Andreason's main concern was saving data essential for setting the state budget.
"This is very critical," he said. "We're in the information business. There's the chance we will be able to get the information with a one-time entry" from backup tapes salvaged after the blaze burned parts of the attorney general's and budget offices.
His staff thought to put the tapes in a safe before the day of the fire.
"They were awfully warm, but they may be useable," he said. The Legislature was to convene on Monday as expected, lawmakers say.
Attorney General Larry EchoHawk said the probable cause of the fire was smoldering cigarette butts dumped into a wastebasket by Jean McNeil, a public information officer in his department.
McNeil said she told investigators she used an ashtray and believed the cigarette butts were cold before she threw them away.
EchoHawk called McNeil a "dedicated, loyal employee" who was devastated by the accident.
"It's completely accidental," Boise Fire Marshal Steve Minnis said. "It's not a criminal thing."
With the cleanup under way, state officials started considering restoration of the 80-year-old Capitol, which could take 11/2 years and $1.5 million to finish.
Rankin Ahlm, a restoration expert from Minnesota, briefed budget office employees on handling financial records and computers damaged by the smoke and water.
"Take out absolutely only what you need to function," Ahlm told a fire management team.