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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Fire officials say Idaho has ‘greater potential' for significant wildfire season this summer
Firefighters work along Idaho Highway 21 west of Stanley to fight the Wapiti Fire on Aug. 26, 2024. (Courtesy of U.S. Forest Service/Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1) As hot, dry weather settles in, officials are predicting a greater than usual likelihood that Idaho will experience significant wildfires this summer. The Predictive Services Office at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise's new forecast for June through September shows an above normal potential for significant wildfire developing in northern Idaho this month. The above normal potential for significant wildfire then expands into southern Idaho and central Idaho from July into September. 'What that means is if an accidental ignition occurs or a lighting ignition occurs, there is going to be a greater potential for those ignitions to develop into serious incidents that get large enough to affect people or pose a risk to life or property,' said Rebecca Paterson, a public affairs specialist for the the Bureau of Land Management who is based at the National Interagency Fire Center, or NIFC, in Boise. Even though there was a healthy snowpack in many parts of Idaho this winter, warm, dry weather has rapidly melted the snowpack, which contributes to the risk of wildfire, Paterson said. Abundant drying grass crops throughout southern Idaho, mixed with forecasts for low levels of precipitation and high temperature also contribute to the risk, she said. Located next to the Boise Airport, NIFC is the country's headquarters for wildland fire operations. Several different agencies are represented at NIFC, including the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and more. Both the state and federal government have taken steps to address widespread concern over pay for wildland firefighters. In March, the Idaho Legislature's budget committee approved $1 million in pay bonuses for state firefighters working for the Idaho Department of Lands. That same month, the U.S. Department of Interior announced permanent pay increases for federal and tribal wildland firefighters. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Paterson said the federal pay increases are a result of years worth of efforts to help recruit and retrain firefighters. She said the firefighters who stand to benefit most from the pay increases are firefighters in the beginning stages of their career at the lower end of the pay scale. It's too early to tell how the raises are affecting retention, but on Monday afternoon a Department of Interior spokeswoman said hiring is up slightly compared to a year ago. As of June 2, the U.S. Department of Interior had hired 4,830 wildland fire personnel across the country, which is up slightly from a year ago, the spokeswoman said. But even with steps taken to address pay and turnover, Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller still expressed concern with the levels of federal nonfirefighting staff and the ability to hire and retain mid- to upper-management level engine captains in Idaho. 'I am confident in the amount of resources we are going to have this year (at the state level, but) what is concerning is the support positions at the federal level,' Miller said in a phone interview Monday. 'We have been told to expect the same level of initial attack resources from the U.S. Forest Service, but what is concerning is that many nonfire staff who pay critical roles in incident management teams have taken various voluntary departure options offered by the federal government.' At the state level, Miller said Idaho will also have slightly more firefighters than last year. But Miller said Idaho still struggles to fill permanent engine captain positions. As a result, Miller said the Idaho Department of Lands will only be able to staff 50% of the engines with seven-days-per-week coverage. Miller said the Idaho Department of Lands is looking to other permanent staff members who have retained their fire qualifications to help boost staffing and coverage. 'We are ready to go this fire season,' Miller said. 'We have most of the resources we need and, again, we will be relying heavily on others within the Department of Lands to participate at some level during fire season.' Another potential concern is funding in Idaho's state wildfire suppression fund. This year, the Idaho Legislature approved transferring $40 million to the state's Fire Suppression Deficiency Fund, the Sun previously reported. However the $40 million is less than the $58 million the state spent fighting wildfires in 2024 alone. CONTACT US If the state spends more money than it has available to fight wildfires, it can still pay its bills through a process called deficiency warrants. But then the state would need to go back to the Idaho Legislature next year with bills for the deficiency warrants, which would be a little bit like using a credit card to pay wildfire bills. At any rate, Gov. Brad Little had requested $60 million in new funding (not just the $40 million) for the wildfire account and urged legislators to give the state the tools it needs to aggressively fight wildfires from the beginning. Partnerships and relationships between different state and federal agencies are key factors in fighting wildfires. In Idaho, the location of where a fire starts plays a role in determining which agency responds. Depending on jurisdiction, what type of land the fire is located on and how big the fire is, federal wildland firefighters, state firefighters, the local community fire department or a volunteer fire protection service may show up to fight the fire. While firefighters cannot prevent lightning strikes from starting wildfires, Paterson did say Idahoans can help reduce the risk of wildfire this summer. Most of the wildfires in Idaho in recent years have been caused by people. Dousing all campfires and extinguishing them dead out, avoiding parking vehicles on grass and preventing chains from dragging behind vehicles and throwing off sparks can all help prevent wildfires. 'Weather, climate and fuel conditions cause those ignitions to become serious incidents, perhaps a lot faster than you expect, and tax responders' ability to respond,' Paterson said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Idaho Legislature's budget committee approves funding for wildfires, bonuses for firefighters
Firefighters work along Idaho Highway 21 west of Stanley to fight the Wapiti Fire on Aug. 26, 2024. (Courtesy of U.S. Forest Service/Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1) The Idaho Legislature's Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved funding to fight wildfires and bonuses for wildland firefighters during a meeting Friday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. However, budget writers did not provide the full funding levels that Idaho Gov. Brad Little and other statewide elected officials recommended at the beginning of the annual legislative session. On Friday, legislators set aside less money for fighting wildfires than the state spent fighting wildfires in 2024. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, or JFAC, is a powerful committee that sets all the budgets for every state agency and department every year. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX JFAC members voted unanimously to approve a one-time request to transfer $40 million from the state's general fund to the state's Fire Suppression Deficiency Fund. CONTACT US The fund is what the state uses to pay to fight wildfires on lands the state is responsible for. Following last year's long and difficult fire season, the state spent about $60 million fighting wildfires and spent down a significant chunk of the fund balance, state officials said. The balance in the fire suppression account stands at about $12 million, state officials said. At the beginning of the 2025 legislative session, Little requested a $60 million supplemental funding request for the current fiscal year 2025 budget and an ongoing transfer of $40 million every year to build the fire suppression fund back up and prepare to fight wildfires this year. The Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners, which is made up of Little and other statewide elected officials, also backed Little and called for increasing the fund's balance to about $100 million. 'For this reason, the State Board of Land Commissioners endorses the Governor's recommendation for a $60 million FY25 supplemental appropriation that will backfill the last fire season so we can continue to keep the Fire Suppression Deficiency Fund balance near $100 million, and an additional ongoing $40 million fund transfer to help Idaho avoid going into debt to fight wildfires in the future,' Little, Attorney General Raúl Labrador, Secretary of State Phil McGrane, Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield and State Controller Brandon Woolf wrote in a Feb. 18 letter to JFAC. 'Backing the Fire Suppression Deficiency Fund means Idaho's wildland firefighters can focus on aggressively protecting timber, lands, property, and people without funding delays, and lawmakers can enter next year's budgeting cycle without a deficit due to wildfire suppression,' the letter from Little and the land board added. JFAC just approved a one-time $40 million transfer, which would bring the balance of the fire suppression fund to about $52 million – not the $100-plus million Little and the land board sought. Rep. Dustin Manwaring, R-Pocatello, pointed out that the $52 million in the fund would not have been enough to pay the bills from last year's fire season. But he said the state can use a process called deficiency warrants to pay for fighting wildfires if it runs out of money. If that happens, state officials would then return to the Idaho Legislature next year with the bills for the deficiency warrants – a process kind of like paying the bills with a credit card. 'I do want to make a comment about the current fire season that we just had was about $60 million,' Manwaring said. 'So we understand if we have another fire season like we had, we may have to use the deficiency warrant process, but the department has that ability to pay for fire if we get into that situation.' JFAC members did not discuss Little's letter or consider any alternative proposals during the meeting to increase the fire suppression fund balance. In separate action Friday, JFAC also voted 19-1 to approve $1.25 million in bonuses for wildland firefighters as part of the larger fiscal year 2026 budget enhancements for the Idaho Department of Lands. For the bonuses, $1 million would go to Idaho Department of Lands firefighters and the remaining $250,000 would go to timber protection association firefighters in Idaho. The money would provide bonuses for more than 300 firefighters, legislators said. The fiscal year 2026 budget enhancements for the department also include new funding for fire detection cameras, funding for fire equipment, funding and one new position for a new fire emergency support program manager, funding and one new position for a fire aviation section manager and more. However, JFAC also zeroed out a $52,000 funding request from Little for the shared stewardship program to reduce wildfire risk. Under the shared stewardship program, the state, U.S. Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service share staff and funding and all participate in an advisory group that seeks to identify mutual priorities and forest management opportunities. The funding for the Fire Suppression Deficiency Fund and the bonuses for wildland firefighters must still be approved by the full Idaho House of Representatives and Idaho Senate to take effect. 021825-Land-Board-letter-to-JFAC-support-fire-suppression-funding SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
