Cutting firewood suspended on all Idaho endowment lands that are currently under Stage 2 fire restrictions

August 19, 2015

The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) announced on Monday, August 17 that it will not issue any new firewood cutting permits on endowment lands in areas covered by stage 2 fire restrictions (which includes Boundary County) until further notice. In addition, all firewood cutting permits already issued by the agency for endowment lands in areas covered by stage 2 fire restrictions will be suspended until further notice. Stage 2 fire restrictions are in place for all of northern Idaho, most of north central Idaho, and some areas near Riggins. State land managers called for the moratorium and suspension of firewood cutting permits on endowment lands in these areas because sparks from the use of a chainsaw or ax while cutting firewood could easily ignite a fire. Many new fires were ignited by last week’s weather events, and resources to fight them become scarcer with every new fire that starts. The announcement does not apply to federally-managed public lands, only state-owned endowment lands. Private industrial timber lands currently are closed to the public. Any person who holds a current firewood cutting permit from the Idaho Department of Lands will receive notification from the agency that they are not allowed to cut firewood on endowment lands in areas under stage 2 fire restrictions, until further notice. A detailed map showing where fire restrictions are in place is located online at http://idahofireinfo.blogspot.com/p/fire-restrictions.html. A map showing the location of endowment lands managed by the Idaho Department of Lands is available online here: http://www.idl.idaho.gov/maps-land-records/index.html. Idahoans are reminded to be careful not to start a fire while working or playing in the outdoors. Fire prevention tips are available online at http://idahofireinfo.blogspot.com/.