SOUTH BOISE, IDAHO — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is preparing its crews for Idaho's wildfire season. As the weather warms up and the summer heat starts to dry things out, wildfires will become more common in the state.
- The BLM recommends bringing a shovel, fire extinguisher and/or at least 5 gallons of water in a bucket when shooting on public lands to make sure you can responsibly put out any unintentionally lit fires.
- Dragging chains from trailers can also start fires alongside roadways.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
Tuesday's stormy weather sparked two lightning-caused fires near Mountain Home, causing BLM crews to respond.
"Each one of those fires has engines on them as of right now and overhead to manage those fires and make sure they get extinguished," says Chad Cline, the Fire Information Officer for Boise District BLM.
He tells me that this is the time of year when fires become more common.
"We usually get the human-caused fires, you know the shooting caused or trailers dragging chains, we usually get those this time of year," says Cline.
A wet spring helps grasses grow tall, but as the summer heat starts drying things out, that tall brush becomes flashy fuel.
"When we get that that grass loading, you know it's more susceptible for fire to move in that stuff, especially if you add wind with that and you know we've had some quite windy days," added Cline.
Cline tells me the BLM has a class of rookies going through critical training, while crews prepare for the summer fire season.
"Yesterday was a good test to kind of test out the new folks in and kind of see how they all work together," says Cline.
As for folks enjoying public lands, Cline urges Idahoans to recreate responsibly.
"Checking your trailer bearings and your chains making sure campfires are out and then you know don't burn on dry and hot days and if you're out shooting you know make sure you follow the prevention order that's in place," says Cline.
