Weekly Fire Update
IDL has its first team fire this week with the Goldrun Fire near Ola, currently under the management of a Great Basin Regional Management Type 3 Incident Management Team (Julia Lauch I.C.)
View the Most Current Wildfire Report on IDL's Fire News Feed
IDL Fire Investigators Seek Help Identifying the Cause of the Candle Hill Fire
On Saturday, July 15, IDL firefighters were dispatched to a suspicious wildfire on Granite Mountain east of Highway 95 and Kelso Lake in Bonner County.
With the help of extensive and expensive air support, firefighters contained the Candle Hill fire at just seven acres.
The cause of this fire is under investigation and IDL investigators have sought the public's help to determine how the fire started. IDL sent a news release asking for information and/or photos of the fire taken close to the time of ignition.
IDL Offers Arborist Certification Preparation Workshops and Testing
IDL's Urban and Community Forestry Program is offering another round of workshops aimed at preparing arborists to take the International Society of Arboriculture certification exam. Two workshops will be offered in September - one in southern Idaho and one in North Idaho.
There is no charge for arborists to attend the course. Attendance is limited and continuing education credits will be available for those who are already certified.
Admission is prioritized for those who are not certified but scheduled to take the test.
Fire Danger Ratings Rising Quickly in Northern Idaho
Fire Wardens in North Idaho were concerned about the rapid change in fire conditions and the sudden increase in the number of wildfires. In response, IDL published a news release on Friday, July 7, to get the word out to the public.
Nearly 40 wildfires were fought in northern Idaho during the last week of June and the first week of July. IDL crews were dispatched to 16 fires and the Forest Service fought 13 wildfires. Unfortunately, many of the fires under IDL protection were human caused.
“Drier conditions in the higher elevations of the mountains have resulted in the fire rating increasing to Very High, with a forest-wide fire danger of High,” noted Brian Hicks, Fire Warden for the Pend Oreille Forest Protective District.
Fire officials asked the public and industry to increase their caution as a spark in dry conditions can start and carry a fire a long distance very quickly.
NWCG Incident Performance and Training Modernization Initiative
Last week members of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) met at IDL's Boise staff office to work on the group's Incident Performance and Training Modernization initiative.
The modernization of NWCG’s training systems is part of its larger Systems Improvement effort intended to support the organization's core mission of enabling interoperable wildland fire operations among federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners. The Incident Performance and Training Modernization effort is a key component of Systems Improvement and covers:
- Incident position management
- Next Generation position task books
- Streamlined training
IDL is represented on NWCG's Executive Board by Jim Karels through the agency's membership in the National Association of State Foresters.
Teakean/CDA Helitack Cross Training
The Teakean Crew, Ponderosa Forest Protective District, and the IDL helitack program recently trained together.
The following day they all went out and worked on a line construction project, preparing a GNA timber sale for a prescribed burn this coming fall.
   
Campfires and Firewood Cutting Restrictions in Place within Fall East Ton Timber Sale Area
Recent fires on endowment trust land within the Fall East Ton Timber sale area resulted in Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) and the Southern Idaho Timber Protective Association (SITPA) banning campfires within that area.
Firefighters have responded to campfire escapes within the timber sale area that reached logging slash. Fortunately, firefighters suppressed the fires quickly.
Building campfires near logging slash greatly increases the risk of wildfire!
Signs are now posted on all accesses to the timber sale area and are posted throughout the area where campfires are prohibited.
IDL continues to prohibit firewood cutting within this sale area as the timber sale is still in an active status. Firewood cutting in this area has been clearly marked as prohibited on the Payette Lakes Supervisory Area’s 2023 firewood cutting maps.
Sustainable Timber Harvests Hits New High, Benefiting Idaho’s Public Schools
IDL shared the good news of increased, sustainable timber harvests thanks to a more robust Forest Asset Management Plan. This fiscal year will have the largest recommended sales volume in IDL history.
IDL is headed into the fifth year of the plan that increased recommended sales volume by 81 million board feet over five years. It incrementally took the recommended sales volume from 247 million board feet in 2019 up to 328 million board feet this year.
IDL manages about one million acres of endowment timberlands, which make up roughly six percent Idaho’s productive forestlands. However, given the agency’s long-term approach to sustainable forestry, endowment land supplies nearly one-third of the sawlogs and fiber that feed Idaho’s mills.
IDL can sustainably increase harvest levels thanks to better data and new technology that paints a more realistic picture of the stands of trees on endowment land. The agency targets mature timber and over-crowded stands, resulting in better forest management and increased tree growth.
Team IDL Participates in NASTL Summer Conference
Last week IDL staff including Director Miller, Scott Phillips, Mick Thomas, Jason Laney and Mike Murphy attended the National Association of State Trust Lands summer conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The New Mexico State Land Office hosted this year's conference and developed the event's agenda around the theme Diversify the Trust.
The agenda included discussions about managing tribal land exchanges, innovative approaches for generating revenue from the carbon market, and renewable energy leasing.
The agenda also included tour stops at endowment trust land in Albuquerque, spotlighting the host state's diverse approaches to monetizing trust land.
Participants visited a $25 million low income housing project built on endowment trust land by a local non-profit. Prior to the redevelopment, the blighted conditions of the property were both an eyesore to the community and magnet for criminal activity. Now the 1.8 acre tract, which is under a 60 year lease, supplies 91 low income housing units (with veteran preferences) for elderly residents.
They also met with Albuquerque entrepreneur Steve Chavez, the developer behind Mesa del Sol, a 13,000 acre master planned community being built on a mix of private and endowment trust land in southeast Albuquerque.
Netflix's Albuquerque Studios recently expanded its footprint at Mesa del Sol from 30 acres to 300. Netflix now leases 130 acres endowment trust land at the development. New Mexico land officials expect the Netflix lease will contribute $24 million to the University of New Mexico over the next 40 years.
A highlight of every summer NASTL meeting is the State Roll Call. This summer was no different, and during the two-hour segment member states, including Idaho, shared details of their successes over the past year.
In Case You Missed It
One Team One Voice Webpage
Did you miss some important news? Are you curious about knowing what's happening across IDL? Our One Team, One Voice webpage contains an archive of IDL's newsletters covering:
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