Kootenai County Burn Ban in Effect

Effective June 23, 2015, the summer burn ban is now in effect for all outdoor burning, with exception to recreational/cooking fires.  For those who received a burn permit prior to June 23rd, you will be allowed to burn until your 10-day permit expires.  

We are expecting an extremely dry summer this year with above average temperatures.  Please take extra precautions with any open flames outdoors (campfires, cooking fires, BBQ's, etc.)  Always make sure that your fire is attended at all times and completely extinguished when unattended.

U.S. FOREST SERVICE PROHIBITS USE OF EXPLODING TARGETS FOR PROTECTION OF PUBLICS’ HEALTH AND SAFETY

Regional Forester Nora Rasure announced restrictions on the use of explosives and exploding targets on National Forests and Grasslands within the Intermountain Region of the Forest Service.

“This closure order is necessary to protect the health and safety of users of the National Forest and Grasslands within the Intermountain Region,” said Regional Forester Rasure.

Explosives and exploding targets are designed to explode when shot with a rifle; the resulting explosions have been known to cause wildfires when conditions are right.

The closure order includes National Forest System lands in the states of Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and Wyoming administered within the Intermountain Region as National Forests (NF), including: Ashley NF, Dixie NF, Fishlake NF, Manti-La Sal NF, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache NF, Boise, NF, Caribou-Targhee NF, Payette NF, Salmon-Challis NF, Sawtooth NF, Bridger-Teton NF, and Humboldt-Toiyabe NF.

Boise County issues annual burn restrictions starting July 1st

 Boise County's ban on outdoor burning is contained in Ordinance 2014-03 and prohibits any open fires on private lands between July 1st and October 20th. This ban does not prohibit campfires in appropriate structures at private residences.The ban continues in effect between these dates regardless of the presence of state and federal restrictions.

For more informantion: http://www.boisecounty.us/department/719/fire_information.aspx

Sagebrush Sea Showing at the Egyptian Theater -- June 30

The Nature Conservancy, the Audubon Society and other partners are sponsoring a free showing of the hour-long film The Sagebrush Sea at the Egyptian Theatre on June 30.  The Sagebrush Sea is a visually rich, hour-long nature documentary about wildlife in sagebrush ecosystems.   The film is followed by a panel discussion moderated by Marcia Franklin of PBS.  Panelists include movie-maker Marc Dantzker, Steve Knick of USGS, and Brian Rutledge of Audubon. 

For more details visit:http://bit.ly/1JS6FoH

 

Understanding the Information Provided in the National Incident Management Situation Report (IMSR)

The national Incident Management Situation Report (IMSR) provides a synopsis of national wildland fire activity that occurred the previous day (or week during weekly reporting). It also reports non-fire incidents whenever a significant number of wildland fire resources are committed to these incidents. The report is produced daily at national Preparedness Level 2 and above, or whenever activity warrants daily reporting. The IMSR is produced weekly during periods of minimal or low fire activity (at Preparedness Level 1). The report is posted to the web at 5:30 a.m. Mountain Time during daily reporting, or 8:00 a.m. Mountain Time during weekly reporting periods. The IMSR is comprised of five sections: header table showing national fire activity and special statements (if any); individual significant fire summaries for Geographic Areas experiencing significant fire activity; an Active Incident Resource Summary which tracks fires and resources assigned nationally; and tables containing daily and year to date statistics by Geographic Area and agency; a national weather statement and a 6 Minutes for Safety topic.

The IMSR document is produced by the Predictive Services Intelligence Section at the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC), a branch of the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho. Information included in the IMSR comes from a variety of sources. All wildland fire activity information comes from Situation Reports and Incident Status Summary (ICS-209, or "209") reports submitted in the Sit-209 program within the Fire and Aviation Management Web applications system (FAMWEB). This includes current fires and acres and large incident information from 209 reports, as well as year to date fire and acre totals for each Geographic Area and agencies. The Predictive Services weather discussion is prepared by a Predictive Services meteorologist at the NICC. The 6 Minutes for Safety topic comes from the 6 Minutes for Safety web page (http://www.wildfirelessons.net/uploads/6mfs/home.html).


Title information at the top of the IMSR includes the national preparedness level (PL), which is determined by fire activity levels, number and kind of resources committed to incidents, and other factors. More about preparedness levels can be found at: http://www.nifc.gov/nicc/logistics/references/Definition_of_PL_Levels.pdf.

Fires that meet the national significant fire criteria are reported in the IMSR under the Geographic Area that the fire occurs within. The NICC criteria for significant fires are those that exceed 300 acres in grass and brush fuels (fuel models 1 through 7), 100 acres in timber fuels (fuel models 8 through 13), or have a Type 1 or 2 team assigned. Non-fire incidents will be reported if a significant number of wildland fire fighting resources are assigned. Fire and non-fire incidents must submit an ICS-209 to be included in the IMSR (if the incident meets the above size and complexity criteria).

The national fire activity table at the top of the IMSR provides a synopsis of activity that occurred since the last IMSR report was produced. It shows the national initial attack activity level, the number of new fires reported, the number of new significant fires (denoted by an asterisk), the number of

new significant fires (denoted by an asterisk), the number of contained and uncontained significant fires, and the number of incident management teams assigned.

If You Fly We Can't - Drones

 Please don't fly your "drones" near wildfire activities. Public and firefighter safety is the #1 priority.

 

 

National Wildland Fire Potential Outlook June thru September