Sponsored by the College of Western Idaho, the course runs for the full week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Nampa Campus.  On Thursday, nearly 40 new fire fighters will journey to the Boise National Forest for a practice fire.  Media representatives are invited to attend any portion of the training.

The practice burn on Thursday is about 2 miles north of Idaho City at the Highway 21 and Granite Creek Road (327) junction.  The briefing is at the Granite Creek turnoff and the practice burn will be up the road 1.6 miles. An Information Officer will be at the junction of Highway 21 and Granite Creek.   Ignition is anticipated at approximately 10 am.  Good field shoes should be worn and personal protection equipment will be provided to reporters who need it. 

The academy which provides specialized training for both grass and timber wildfires with an emphasis on safety procedures includes both classroom and live fire training.

Monday:  Fire Behavior – How a wildland fire burns in different fuels, weather, and topography. 

Tuesday:  Suppression – How a fire line is built, how to use water when it may be extremely limited, and important survival techniques.

Wednesday:  On the fire line suppression tactics– How to use a shovel, Pulaski, McCloud, fire shelters, and firing devices.   Handline construction practice begins.

Thursday:  Practice Fire – How to put out a fire.  This day is a start-to-finish practical exercise using ignition, suppression, and mop-up tools.  It is a day to feel heat and breathe smoke.

Friday:  Leadership, Urban Interface and Investigation – How to determine the cause of a fire and how to provide leadership in a stress filled environment.

For more information contact:

David Olson:  208-861-0768  or  Jennifer Couch (CWI):  208-562-3508

Weather and conditions permitting:

Wednesday, May 9, the Lowman RD plans to aerial ignite 650 acres at Bear Creek near Grandjean continuing through Thursday May 10.

Bear Creek

Friday, May 11, the Idaho City RD plans to hand ignite 300 acres –  1 mile north of Placerville in the Alder prescribed burn area.

Alder Prescribed Burn

Tuesday, May 15, the Mountain Home RD plans to hand ignite 90 acres a few miles northwest of Featherville in the Whiskey Campo prescribed fire area. (Cancelled)

Whiskey Campo

Ignition occurred by dropping small, chemically treated plastic spheres from a helicopter that ignite after hitting the ground. This technique is safer for fire managers, and improves the ability to manage flame height and intensity.

Smoke may be visible in the area for several days, or weeks, until spring rains extinguish the mostly smoldering fuels. Some flare-ups may be visible. Fire personnel monitor the burn area daily to ensure a dangerous situation does not develop leading to an escaped prescribed burn. 

This area evolved with natural fire and is a fire adapted ecosystem.  Periodic fire, especially a prescribed burn, enhances meeting natural conditions in a safer manner for people living or traveling in the area. It also lessens the threat of a hot and dry intense wildfire in the summer for the lodge, surrounding properties and recreation lands.

The objective was to use low severity and moderate intensity fire on 30-60% of the area.  That reduces the accumulation of pine needles, branches and other dead wood on the ground.  Another important objective is to reduce “ladder fuels”, which is a condition where a ground fire can travel into the tree crown due to low limbs that grew due to a lack of periodic low intensity fire.  Burning also clears decadent brush and stimulates less flammable young shrubs that are more palatable for big game.

Site-specific burn plans developed for prescribed burns address potential smoke management concerns and mitigations.  Signs posted on roads near the burn area notify travelers and outdoors people when burning is in progress.  All burns are conducted with favorable atmospheric ventilation and wind to minimize smoke impacts to local communities.

Bear Creek

For residents, an early season reminder regarding burning yard waste at your home – permits are required starting May 10^th.   Permits are issued on a case-by-case basis depending on weather conditions. Additional information is available at your closest Idaho Department of Lands office. 

For more information, contact the Lowman Ranger District at 208-259-3361, the Boise National Forest Prescribed Fire Website at-www.rxfire.com, or the Prescribed Fire Hotline at 208-373-4208.

This planned prescribed burn is part of the Meadows Slope Project that was completed in 2005. The thinning portion of the project has been in progress since 2007 on the New Meadows and McCall Ranger Districts.  Thinning on the McCall Ranger District in the Bear Basin vicinity was completed in 2011.  The New Meadows District will continue to thin in the vicinity of Rock Flat in the next few years. This spring we hope to burn an 80 acre broadcast burn unit.  Prescribed burning in this area is anticipated to last the next five to seven years until the project hazardous fuels reduction and prescribed burning goals are met.

This burn unit is adjacent to Highway 55.  The highway and local roads will be posted with caution signs and maps of the prescribed burn locations.  Motorists should exercise caution and watch for stopped vehicles, possible smoke, firefighters, and potential delays on the day of the burn.

Fire personnel will work closely with the Idaho/Montana Airshed Group, the National Weather Service, and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to insure that smoke impacts are minimized. If at any time smoke impacts fail to stay within certain levels burning will be halted.

Prescribed fire is an important component of natural resource management on the Payette National Forest, and part of the comprehensive fire management program on the New Meadows Ranger District. This particular prescribed fire will rejuvenate shrubs and grasses, which will improve habitat for browse, upland game birds and small mammals. Reducing fuels that have accumulated as a result of fire suppression over the past 100 years also promotes long-term ecosystem sustainability by reducing the risk of high-severity wildland fire and introduces a mosaic of fire intensities into this fire-adapted ecosystem.

Further information regarding prescribed fire in Southwest Idaho can be found at the following website: http://www.rxfire.com/.

Maps of this planned burn and others can be found in the following publication:

http://www.rxfire.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2012_RX_Fire_Book.pdf .

Smoke sensitive or concerned individuals may call Dave Vining or Rob Morrow at 208-634-0400 with questions they may have about the planned prescribed fire.

Weather and conditions permitting:

On Wednesday,  April 25,  the Emmett RD plans to complete the Rocky Canyon prescribed burn with 500 more acres.

Rain is predicted for Thursday and there are no other scheduled prescribed burns for the Boise National Forest for the week of April 23.

Weather Permitting:

Tuesday, April 24,  the Emmett RD plans to helicopter ignite 2300 acres in Rocky Canyon, approximately 10 miles north of Crouch and west of the Middle Fork Payette River.