Idaho Wildfire Season Enters Screaming

You may have noticed the dark orange shade at sunrise.  Fire season has arrived in Idaho with a vengeance.  I had guests on my radio show from Fish and Game on Thursday morning.  They came and told me they could smell the smoke drifting from fires as far away as Boise.  As of Friday morning, I could look out a window in Twin Falls and see the haze to the north and west.

As I write this, one map I’m looking at shows most of the active fire activity up and down the western spine of the state, with a couple of fires burning to the east.  Some beautiful country is burning, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Yet, we see some areas that don’t look quite ready to become fuel  State Representative Lance Clow told me on Friday morning that he had traveled into the hills south of Twi Falls earlier this week.  He was impressed by how green his surroundings appeared.  But the intense heat could turn a lot of that lush vegetation into dry fuel. The result of a wet spring.

Living in this part of the northwest is a double-edged sword.  The spring rains left many of our reservoirs topped off, giving a big assist to growers.  But in the forests, the large volume of green can soon turn golden and brown.

Lightning strikes may be responsible for some of our burns, but are large number are still caused by unattended campfires and discarded cigarette butts. Don't be an idiot.

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