Fighting wildfires: what you should know

2021 has been an extreme drought year across the Idaho panhandle, creating extreme fire danger throughout the region.

As local agencies and contracted crews fight the wildfires that have popped up during the spring and summer months, many residents are closely following their progress.

But how many understand the information they’re given?

North Bench Fire District Fire Chief Gus Jackson and Idaho Department of Lands Fire Warden Nate Rogers want to help residents understand some of the terms as well as offer tips for what you can do to help firefighters do their job.

Some terms to understand:

Containment: a control line has been completed around the fire and any associated spot fires, which can reasonably be expected to stop fire spread.

Reasonable expectations include many factors like personnel to back up the fireline, weather conditions, terrain, fire fuel and more. All of these factors help determine containment. If a fireline doesn’t have personnel to back it up, it is not considered contained and will not be included in the containment percentages.

Control a fire: completion of line around a fire, any spot fires and any interior islands, burn out any unburned area adjacent to the fire side of the control line and cool down any hot spots that are immediate threats to the control line until the line can be reasonably expected to hold.

A controlled fire doesn’t necessarily mean it is completely out but may allow an incident commander to reduce the number of resources assigned to that fire, allowing those resources to be applied to other fires. Fire may still be burning and smoke still visible but the fire itself is no longer out of control.

Crown fire: Moves through the canopy of trees and burns all foliage, including underbrush, trees and any available fire fuel.

Dirty burn: the continuity of fuel doesn’t allow for a clean burn. The foliage is inconsistent making it harder to find a fire edge to create a fireline. Creates more spot fires, less predictable.

Ground fire: brushy, low to the ground fires often located in the underbrush often allowing the trees to stay intact. Can be beneficial to the environment as they clear out the underbrush, canopy, dead trees, etc. Often easier to contain.

Spotting or spot fires: if, for example, a tree torches up, it can throw embers ahead of the fire over a great distance, away from the fire itself and across the fireline. Any fire that is away from the main fire is considered a spot fire.

Rogers said the year has brought a number of challenges. “Resources have been scarce,” he said. They have contracted crews from out of the area to help suppress fires.

Rogers and Jackson said there are many things the public can do to help firefighters with their job. They include:

• Don’t fly drones near a fire in an attempt to take photos. The drones are difficult to see and could potentially cause a severe accident.

“If [a drone] hits any part of an aircraft it could cause significant damage. Especially a prop or an intake, it’s going to bring down the aircraft.” said Jackson.

“If we know there’s one in the area,” added Rogers, “we’re going to ground all aircraft. That could be detrimental to containing the fire.”

• Interference from the public can also be an issue.

“Stay away from the area,” Rogers said. They get a lot of people who want to see what’s going on but that can be a major hindrance to crews responding to fires.

• Narrow roads blocked by traffic, helicopters or scoopers trying to dip from lakes and rivers approached by boats and more can create problems for firefighters as well.

The Westside fire is a good example. “We couldn’t even get to the area to park to get to the fire,” said Jackson. “That’s a big issue.”

“Safety is our number one priority,” Rogers added. “If there’s issues [like this] then we can’t engage [with the fire].”

While the area has received some rainfall and temperatures have been lower, the pair cautioned that there is still a lot of fire season left. It’s what they call a “false fall.” The fire season typically runs from June to September. This year started in April and hasn’t quit yet. They anticipate the fire season to go through October.

Stage 2 fire restrictions have been lifted as of now, but if area residents want to burn a debris fire, they still need to get a burn permit, which can be obtained at http://burnpermits.idaho.gov/. Individuals who start uncontrolled fires due to negligence could potentially be charged for services rendered if fire agencies have to show up to put the fire out.

This is an especially pertinent point as over 80% of wildfires are caused by humans. Rogers and Jackson expect that the heavy drought will continue until the area receives heavy snowfall.

You can call the local fire information line for fire updates, current fire restrictions and more at 208-843-FIRE (3473).