Low snowpack and drought put Idaho’s Panhandle, Salmon regions at higher wildfire risk

Mia Maldonado, Idaho Capital Sun

SALMON (Idaho Capital Sun) — As upwind experts forecast supra normal temperatures nationwide this summer, nan consequence of wildfires will emergence crossed nan country, including successful Idaho.

On Tuesday, nan Bureau of Land Management and nan Idaho Department of Lands gave a occurrence forecast briefing to nan Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners.

East cardinal Idaho adjacent Salmon and confederate parts of nan Idaho Panhandle are nan astir susceptible to wildfire this summer, BLM meteorologist Jim Wallmann told nan onshore board. 

While overmuch of nan confederate portion of Idaho had bedewed wintertime conditions and dependable snowpack, Wallmann said debased snowpack and barren summertime conditions put those areas astatine higher wildfire risk.

Idaho besides has abnormal good substance loading, Wallmann said, meaning location are a batch of earthy plants specified arsenic cheatgrass and sage that are highly flammable and could lend to nan dispersed of wildfires.

“Now we get to July, particularly successful nan Snake River plain… Once nan perennials barren retired and nan sage starts to barren and cure, they’ll beryllium capable to lend to fire,” Wallmann said. “Any ignitions that we person could beryllium perchance problematic successful areas wherever there’s writer loading that extends passim nan bluish Great Basin.”

So far, 58 acres of Idaho onshore has burned

As of Tuesday morning, nan Idaho Department of Lands counted 50 fires successful Idaho this year, making up a full of 58 acres, section occurrence guidance main Joshua Harvey told nan onshore board.

Of that amount, 27 were human-caused fires and 7 were earthy fires, and galore are still nether investigation, he said. 

The number of Idaho wildfires and acres burned has staggered successful caller years. According to land committee data:

• In 2021, location were 391 fires, and a full of 141,981 acres burned.
• In 2022, location were 280 fires, and a full of 4,614 acres burned.
• In 2023, location were 284 fires, and a full of 2,582 acres burned.

Director of nan Idaho Department of Lands, Dustin Miller, said that while nan section intends to beryllium businesslike successful its occurrence suppression efforts, predicting nan yearly costs is challenging.

Currently, $68 cardinal is allocated for occurrence suppression successful nan wide fund, but Miller emphasized that this is only an estimate for what whitethorn beryllium required and nan request for much backing could increase. For example, nan section spent $17 cardinal connected occurrence suppression successful 2023, whereas successful 2021, during a peculiarly terrible occurrence season, nan costs soared to $75 million.

“Our attraction is connected minimizing costs nan champion we tin during occurrence season,” he told nan board. “We way those costs closely, and I cognize we’ve sewage an responsibility to our taxpayers to make judge that we are being very businesslike pinch those funds.”

The onshore committee includes Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Secretary of State Phil McGrane, Attorney General Raúl Labrador, Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield and State Controller Brandon Woolf.