USFS News Release - Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests announce spring prescribed burning plans

The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests announced plans today for their annual spring prescribed fire projects. Planned ignitions will begin as early as next week, when weather and fuel conditions become optimal for achieving management objectives while minimizing smoke impacts to surrounding communities. Weather, fuel and smoke conditions will be closely monitored and the prescribed burning program will continue as long as conditions remain favorable.

Fire plays an integral role in our environment and is a natural process that will occur, regardless if it is a planned, managed burn or an unplanned wildfire. Prescribed burning is done to reduce fuels, selectively thin the understory in densely forested stands, stimulate growth in fire-tolerant plant species, prepare sites for hand tree planting, enhance forage for wildlife, and return fire’s natural role to the landscape.

Prescribed fire, combined with mechanical and/or hand thinning treatments are effective land management tools used to reduce the accumulation of hazardous fuels. Minimizing hazardous fuels reduces fire intensity and the risk of catastrophic wildland fires and creates strategic fuel breaks in the wildand-urban interface. In turn, this action minimizes the risk to public and firefighter safety.

Smoke from prescribed fires is significantly less than what would be expected from a mid-summer wildfire. If smoke concentrations approach minimum air quality standards, ignitions may be delayed until air quality improves. Residual smoke may be visible for up to two weeks following ignition, but most of the smoke from the fires will dissipate in one or two days.

Short duration trail and area closures may be implemented for public and firefighter safety during prescribed burn activities. Closure information can be found at http://bit.ly/2HMxNam_Alerts_and_Notices.

Acres planned include all lands encompassed in the prescribed burn project areas. However, not every acre will burn or be ignited. The planned prescribed fires by ranger district are as follows:

Salmon River Ranger District - 3,100 acres planned:

·       Blue Mountain - 650 acres located six miles west of Riggins

·       Wickiup - 750 acres located nine miles east of Grangeville

·       Little Medicine - 1,300 acres located nine miles east of Grangeville

·       McComas Plantation - 300 acres located nine miles east of Grangeville

·       Buckshot - 100 acres located 15 miles south of Grangeville, off Forest Service Road #221 at milepost 31

Lochsa/Powell Ranger District - 252 acres planned:

·       White White harvest units - 52 acres located two miles southeast of Musselshell Work Center

·       Woodrat harvest units - 200 acres located two miles northwest of Syringa

North Fork Ranger District - 189 acres planned:

·       Preacher Dewey - 59 acres located four miles east of Pierce, north of Forest Service Road #250

·       Middle Black - 130 acres located north of Kelly Creek Work Center

Moose Creek Ranger District - no acres planned:

·       No planned spring burns

Palouse Ranger District - 106 acres planned:

·       Bluejacket timber sale - 66 acres located 2.5 miles northeast of Laird Park Campground

·       Cherry Dinner project - 40 acres located one mile northeast of Little Boulder Campground

Red River Ranger District - 834 acres planned:

·       Orogrande Fuels project - 298 acres west of Orogrande along the Cooked River Road

·       South Township - 536 acres along the south border of the Elk City Township

Specific information on the location and timing of these prescribed burns is available at each of the district offices:

·       Salmon River Ranger District - Richard Stiles or Graydon Galloway, 208-983-1950

·       North Fork Ranger District - Brandon Skinner or TC Peterson, 208-476-4541

·       Powell Ranger Station - Jon Norman or Brandon Cichowski, 208-942-3113

·       Moose Creek Ranger District - Tim Schaeffer or Joe Sullivan, 208-926-4258

·       Lochsa Ranger Station - Sean Gaines or Neal Cox, 208-926-4274

·       Palouse Ranger District - Lisa Spinelli or Alan Carlson, 208-875-1131

·       Red River Ranger District - Josh Bransford or Tom McLeod, 208-842-2245

BLM, Lemhi Regional Land Trust and Salmon School Garden hosting Firewise program

BLM, Lemhi Regional Land Trust and Salmon School Garden hosting Firewise program

Facebook: @IdahoFireInfo #BLMIFDFire

SALMON, Idaho— The community of Salmon is invited to attend a Firewise presentation on Sunday, April 28 at the Salmon Grange building from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The presentation will focus on practical principles homeowners can implement to make their property less susceptible to wildfire.  

Due to its topography and fuel conditions, people living in areas like Salmon are at a higher wildfire risk. Last year the Salmon-Challis National Forest and BLM lands near Salmon experienced 43 wildfires for 59,565 acres burned.

Firewise is a national, multi-organizational initiative designed to involve homeowners, community leaders, planners, developers and others in the effort to protect homes and businesses from the dangers of wildland fire. Learn how to make your home and landscape less vulnerable to ignition from a wildfire. Develop an evacuation plan to ensure the safety of you, your family, your pets and livestock.

Lemhi Regional Land Trust and the Salmon School Garden will host the event. They will be breaking ground on a Firewise demonstration garden at the Salmon School Garden this spring.

What: Firewise presentation hosted by Lemhi Regional Land Trust
When:  April 28, 2019 at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Salmon Grange, N Terrace Street, Salmon, ID 83467

Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

SW Idaho Fire Adapted Communities Forum - Monday, May 6th in Boise

Are you affected in some way or another by the threat of wildfire?  The Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Firewise and the Boise Fire Department would like to cordially invite you to participate in the annual Southwest Idaho Fire Adapted Communities Forum on Monday, May 6^th at 8:30am at the Barber Park Education & Event Center in Boise.  Registration is $20 and includes lunch provided by Kanak Attack.  The Forum is an opportunity to network with other practitioners and stakeholders around the idea of building communities more resilient to the threat of wildfire, along with learning what has worked for others in regard to wildfire mitigation.  This year we will have two guest presenters, Tim Weaver from Rapid City Fire Department and Alison Green from Deschutes County, OR.  Please register at your earliest convenience, as seating is limited.  Please contact me with any questions.

REGISTRATION LINK:

https://form.jotform.com/90774994742170

SPECIAL GUESTS

Tim Weaver - “Fire Resistance and Aesthetics - Combining Beautiful Building Materials and Large Scale Fire Adaptation”

Lieutenant Tim Weaver has been with the Rapid City Fire Department for 19 years, the last 9 spent in the Fire Marshal’s office.   Tim has a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Sioux Falls and an extensive construction and building background to compliment his 19 years of experience in wildland fire operations and mitigation training.  Tim started Rapid City’s Survivable Space Initiative in 2011 which focuses on wildfire mitigation assistance and fire adapted education for landowners in Rapid City with the help of several grant programs.  He is paving the path for new wildfire safety standards in Rapid City’s primary WUI hazard areas, and helped create a local cost share program with buy in from city leaders.   Larger wildfire mitigation projects on tracks of land in and surrounding Rapid City are accomplished through the Initiatives Veteran Fuel Mitigation Crew with the help of the Bureau of Land Management.  This program provides a good wage and training to veterans transitioning from active duty while mitigating large wildfire threats to Rapid City neighborhoods.  He has worked closely with the South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression Division to provide grant programs and education to landowners and local Volunteer Fire Departments alike, and has recently worked with local stake holders to develop the Black Hills Resilient Forest Strategy for the Black Hill National Forest and surrounding communities.

Alison Green

Alison Green was the former Executive Director of Project Wildfire in Deschutes County, Oregon.  She is now head of a multi-county collaborative focused on the three tenants of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (1) effective firefighting response, (2) creating fire adapted communities, and (3) resilient landscapes.  She will be sharing information on how to collaborate to create fire adapted communities.