 Isabella "Bella" Oscarson
Isabella "Bella" Oscarson
Isabella "Bella" Oscarson, an IDL wildland firefighter, originally from Minnesota, died the evening of September 26 while on duty. She was struck by a falling tree while assisting with the U.S. Forest Service’s Tinker Bugs prescribed fire in the Nez Perce–Clearwater National Forests.
Oscarson was evacuated from the scene and flown to Grangeville, where she succumbed to her injuries.
“IDL extends its deepest sympathies to Isabella’s family and friends. This is a tragedy that hits the employees at Idaho Department of Lands and the broader wildland fire community extremely hard,” said Dustin Miller, Director of IDL. “We are heartbroken and doing everything we can to support her family and our staff during this difficult time.”
Bella was 26 years old and was the Crew Module Leader at the prescribed burn.
From her obituary:
"Born on January 24, 1999, to Kelvin and Kathleen Oscarson, she graduated from Watertown (MN) High School in 2017. After earning her Associates Degree, she joined the MN Conservation Corps and worked as a Crew Leader. She then worked for the MN DNR as a Fire Resource Lead.
She settled into Floodwood with the love of her life, Matt Becker. Bella joined the local volunteer ambulance service, was close to earning an Emergency Management and Homeland Security degree, and fought fires in multiple states and Canada. Matt and Bella moved to Stites, Idaho, in early 2025, with Bella working for the Idaho Department of Lands. Bella's DNR and IDL colleagues, including excellent mentors, meant the world to her.
Bella loved outdoor adventure, cooking, baking, crafting, gardening, and reading. She cherished family and friend time, sharing her joy, quiet faith, playful humor, and funky dance moves. She wrote a children's book about firefighting, The Firebug."
At the request of Bella’s family, there was a small ceremony held in Grangeville with her crew, a few IDL staff members, and select individuals from local agencies.
As part of the Idaho ceremony, there was a cordon of honor made up of IDL, cooperator engines and personnel that lined a half mile of the the route as the family traveled for the ceremony.
Some Area Offices placed purple ribbons on their signs in honor of Bella.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Oct. 4 in Bella’s home state of Minnesota.
Cordon of Honor
 Purple ribbon at Pend Oreille Supervisory Area
 Purple ribbon at Kootenai Valley Forest Protective District
2025 Opinion Leader Forest Tour
This year's Opinion Leader Forest Tour was held in Coeur d'Alene on September 18-19. It was hosted by the Idaho Forest Products Commission in collaboration with the Idaho Department of Lands.
This 2-day forestry experience took legislators behind the scenes with experts to show how we protect and manage Idaho's lands and critical timber resources.
The tour included the following stops:
- Coeur d'Alene Interagency Fire Cache that outfits and supplies thousands of wildland firefighters in Idaho, which included conversations about the IDL fire program, our fire strategic plan, and 2026 proposed legislation.
- USDA Forest Service Nursery where up to 20,000,000 seedlings are produced a year.
- Picnic lunch at an active GNA timber sale on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest.
- Idaho Forest Group’s Chilco Mill which produces 280 million board feet of lumber every year.
photos provided by Idaho Forest Products Commission
 Timber Harvest Tour
 Discussion in the Woods
 USDA Forest Service Nursery Tour
RFPA Excess Equipment Acquisitions
Over the past few weeks, two of Idaho’s Rangeland Fire Protection Associations (RFPAs) have been able to acquire some key firefighting equipment with the assistance of the Idaho Department of Lands. The equipment includes one M900 Series Water Tender for the Camas Creek RFPA and two M1078A1 LMTV Cargo Trucks acquired by the Owyhee RFPA.
These heavy-duty vehicles provide a significant addition in firefighting capacity for both RFPAs. Rangeland fires are often in very rugged terrain, which makes access and water delivery difficult. These vehicles will be utilized by the RFPAs to better respond to these fires and continue their mission to suppress rangeland fires quickly, safely and effectively.
RFPAs are non-profit volunteer firefighting organizations made up of local landowners and community members that have received wildland firefighting training to be able to respond to rangeland fires in southern Idaho. The RFPAs can obtain excess federal equipment like this through both the Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Firefighter Property Program (FFP) and the US Forest Service (USFS) Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) Program.
 Camas Creek RFPA M900 Water Tender, photo by Pat Brown
 Owyhee RFPA M1078A1 LMTV Cargo Truck, photo by Pat Brown
St. Joe Supervisory Area Open House
The St. Joe Supervisory Area celebrated the completion of its new area office and fire building with an open house on Wednesday, Sept. 17. IDL employees from the Coeur d’Alene Staff office and Boise Staff office attended along with members of the public.
Director Dustin Miller and Deputy Director Michele Andersen cut the ribbons for the official opening. Tours of the two new offices were conducted for anyone wishing to see the new buildings.
  
9/11 Memorial Stair Climb
IDL Firefighters participated in the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb in Wallace. This is the 9th year of the event and draws more than 100 participants participants from across the region.
Firefighters, law enforcement officers, and emergency medical personnel made up the participants.
This marks 24 years since the Sept. 11 attacks, honoring the brave men and women who ran toward danger as others fled.
Annual Fire Prevention Poster Contest
Priest Lake Supervisory Office and the Priest Lake Forest Service, Bonner county Fire Prevention Co-op and the Moscow Garden Club are sponsoring the annual Fire Prevention Poster Contest.
First through fifth grade students in West Bonner County have been invited to participate in the Smokey Bear-Woodsy-Owl Poster Contest. Homeschoolers are encouraged to participate as well.
Entries must be completed by Nov. 17.
In Case You Missed It
Here's a recap of other recent IDL newsletters you may find interesting:
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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