BLM Idaho Falls District firefighters protect public lands across the nation

BLM Idaho Falls District firefighters protect public lands across the nation

Twitter: @BLMIdahoFire Facebook: @IdahoFireInfo

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IDAHO FALLS, Idaho—Fire season has come and gone here in eastern Idaho, but your local Bureau of Land Management firefighters are still hard at work assisting communities in need across the nation. BLM Idaho Falls District firefighters respond year-round, sacrificing time with family and friends to protect your public lands.

During the Thanksgiving holiday, BLM firefighters worked as nature’s housekeepers by conducting prescribed fires here and back East. Two engine crews went to North Carolina and carried out burns to prevent large fires during the spring fire season. Firefighters plan on returning in the next few months to assist with fires in hardwood forests.

Over Christmas and the New Year, engine crews were dispatched to the Thomas Fire in Southern California, which burned 281,893 acres. The blaze was contained, but the work is not done. Idaho Falls firefighters remain there working to prevent erosion and mudslides by digging water bars and placing sand bags.  

A dispatcher from the Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center is currently on detail in Virginia with the FEMA Small Business Administration, assisting victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the Thomas Fire with much-needed loans and funds.

Efforts to restore a healthy landscape for plants and wildlife are currently underway in Nevada and Idaho Falls District. Three bulldozer operators from fire operations are in Nevada, rehabilitating the public lands affected by the 2017 fire season.

Wildland firefighting is not your ordinary job. If this career sounds interesting, we are hiring for the 2018 fire season. The early cutoff date to apply is Jan. 30, 2018. For more information visit, www.idahofireinfo.com and click on the Idaho BLM Fire and Aviation-Job Announcements tab.

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News Release
Twin Falls District, Idaho

  DATE:  Jan. 11, 2018

  CONTACT:  Kelsey Brizendine, (208) 732-7315

2018 South Hills seasonal road closure to begin soon

BURLEY, Idaho -- The Burley Bureau of Land Management Field Office will implement a seasonal road closure Jan. 16 to March 15 in the South Hills area.  This closure, which has gone into effect each winter since 2000, is designed to prevent resource damage and to protect crucial mule deer winter range and sage-grouse habitat.  Signs have been posted in the area notifying the public of the closure, and gates have been installed to prevent trespass.  The following roads, as well as any two-tracks or trails tied to these roads, will be closed to motorized travel from Jan. 16 to March 15, 2018:  Dry Creek, Cherry Spring, Indian Springs (Closure begins 1.5 miles south of Foothills Road) and North Cottonwood Creek.

The seasonal closure applies to all motorized vehicles except those specifically authorized to access the area.  Such authorization is provided for search and rescue, emergency medical services and law enforcement personnel, as well as administratively approved actions such as livestock grazing activity, access to private lands and resource monitoring or research studies.  The area is open to the public for non-motorized use.

“Increased human disturbance from motorized vehicles and off-trail recreation force mule deer to move to lower quality habitat and expend energy that they are trying to conserve,” said Eric Killoy, BLM wildlife biologist. “This, in turn, limits foraging ability and reduces fat reserves essential for survival and reproduction. To sustain healthy populations of mule deer in the south hills and surrounding areas, it is crucial to minimize disturbance during these next few months.”

The Magic Valley Regional Office of the Idaho Department of Fish & Game supports the need to protect wildlife in the area. “Considering the heavy winter snows this year, and the light fawn body weights we have been detecting, it makes this closure even more important for people to honor,” said Kelton Hatch, Fish and Game regional conservation educator.

For more information regarding the road closure, please contact Dennis Thompson, BLM Burley field office recreation planner, at (208) 677-6600.