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Summer is here and Idaho is ready for fire
season;
More active fire season expected in North Idaho |
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June 24, 2015 |
It's official: summer is here and weather and
fuel conditions indicate 2015 will be an active
fire season. The very hot temperatures and dry
weather expected across Idaho this week will
rapidly dry out both fine and heavy fuels,
increasing fire potential. Fire managers are
asking people to be extra careful in the
outdoors so they do not accidentally start a
fire.
 Most
of the 74 fires that State of Idaho firefighters
have put out so far this year have been caused
by people, not lightning. Fires resulting from
equipment, recreational shooting, and controlled
burns that escaped make up most of the
human-caused fires on lands protected by the
Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) and two timber
protective associations.
As the Independence Day holiday approaches,
Idahoans also are reminded that fireworks are
prohibited on forest and range lands in Idaho
during closed fire season (May 10 through
October 20).
Fire prevention and safety tips are available on
the new web site,
http://idahofireinfo.blogspot.com/.
What kind of fire season is expected?
National fire weather forecasters told the Land
Board last week they expect a near normal fire
season in southern Idaho and an above normal
fire season for northern Idaho, where the State
of Idaho has much of the responsibility for
fighting wildfire.
Low snowpack and low soil moisture contributed
to conditions in May and June that fire managers
do not usually see until July. Tree stumps are
burning three to four feet into the ground and
bushes that usually stay green and absorb the
fire to slow it down are actually burning and
contributing to the spread of fire. The low
subsoil moisture probably is the result of a
cold snap last November prior to snowfall that
did not allow winter rain to penetrate the soil,
so fires likely will burn deep into the soil and
will be difficult to mop up without water.
This year, Idaho forests are drought-stressed
and more prone to insect and disease damage.
Fine fuels such as grasses are more prevalent
than would be expected in a typical drought
situation thanks to well-timed precipitation
this year. A healthy snowpack usually will
compact fine fuel vegetation from the previous
season, but the limited snowpack this year left
abundant standing fuels from last season to add
to this growing season.
Factors that affect the severity of a fire
season are global weather patterns, temperature,
precipitation (amount and timing), snowpack,
drought, and vegetation development.
Ten IDL forest protective districts and two
timber protective associations together provide
protection on more than 6.2 million acres of
mostly State owned and privately owned
timberlands in Idaho. Most of the lands we
protect are located north of Grangeville. The
other two fire agencies are the U.S. Forest
Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management
(BLM). Local fire districts and rangeland fire
protection associations assist IDL, USFS, and
BLM in our firefighting efforts.
The goal is to keep 94 percent of fires that
burn on State-protected lands to 10 acres or
less in size.
Prepared to fight fire
The ten IDL forest protective districts and two
timber protective associations passed readiness
reviews in early June. The IDL-conducted reviews
ensure the State of Idaho is prepared to
effectively fight fire and transition to an
interagency management team if needed. As part
of the review, IDL checks the condition of
equipment and its proposed use, the training of
personnel, and adequacy of liability insurance.
For the associations, IDL also checks the
governing and managing structure.
Equipment and personnel ready to go if
needed
The State of Idaho's resource contributions to
fighting wildland fire in Idaho include:
Contracted aircraft and on-the-ground
resources:
• Four single engine air tankers,
one based in Coeur d'Alene, two based in
Grangeville, and one based in McCall
• One Type 2 helicopter based in
Coeur d'Alene
• One Type 3 helicopter based in
Grangeville
• One amphibious water scooper, or
"Fire Boss" based in Coeur d'Alene that can
scoop 800 gallons of water in 12-15 seconds and
be off the water in as few as 20-30 seconds. It
can carry an initial load of retardant and then
work close to the fire, scooping from nearby
lakes and rivers.
• 22 engines
• One dozer based in St. Maries
Trained personnel:
• Close to 200 permanent and
seasonal fire personnel with the State of Idaho
have logged thousands of hours of training in
2015 alone. A North Idaho Interagency Guard
School, two interagency fire academies in
southern Idaho, and the first-ever IDL Engine
Academy since the spring provided basic wildland
firefighting training to hundreds of
firefighters employed by both State and federal
agencies.
State of Idaho firefighters available for
the 2015 fire season include:
• 31 three-person engine crews
• Two six-person hand crews
• Two helitac crews, one six-person
and one seven-person
Fire management agencies share resources. The
State personnel, aircraft and equipment can be
dispatched for use on federally managed fires
in-state or out of the state as needed, just as
the State of Idaho can use federal resources to
fight fire on lands protected by the State. Each
agency reimburses another for use of its
resources.
All that's left now is you--Please do your part
and help prevent forest fires!
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