Signs of Recovery Two Years after Large Idaho Fire

Blaine County, Idaho ( KMVT / KSVT ) – Friday marked the two year anniversary for the Beaver Creek Fire. The fire burned over 100,000 acres around Blaine County.

1700 firefighters fought the fire and it was the number one priority in the nation for several days. After the burn, heavy rainfall caused a series of landslides. The Sawtooth National Forest immediately began plans to re-vegetate the land. They aerial seeded 6000 acres with helicopters and put in around 1600 acres of straw mulch on landslide prone areas. Two years later, they are starting to see some results.

“We’re starting to see some seedlings come in. We’re seeing the shrub establishment. So it will be a period of 10, 20, 30 years and then you’ll start seeing conifer seedlings poking out in the midst of all the other vegetation,” said Kurt Nelson, Ketchum District Ranger for the Sawtooth National Forest. Nelson said it can take 75 to 100 years for a burned area to once again become a forest.