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It's Fire Season - Are You Ready?

Winter snowstorms have finally gone into hibernation, and summer is in full swing. During the winter and early spring, our maintenance crews spent about eight months fighting one winter storm after another. Now that summer has decided to show up in eastern Idaho, our crews have changed hats to fire prevention.

Summer is a busy time of year as road construction is in progress and crews are working on projects. As one of those tasks, crews will be working on mowing and vegetation control as the weather warms up and grass begins to dry. By knocking back the roadside vegetation, they can limit the potential fuel for a fire and also provide a larger "clear zone" for wayward vehicles.

Here in eastern Idaho, most crews in D5 and D6 try to only mow in the morning and early afternoon to minimize the chance of sparks flying. You may occasionally see a water truck and other equipment on standby in case of such emergencies.

As we work on the roads and do what we can to prevent fires, our teams continue to work closely with local fire departments and police departments to assist efforts to hinder fires from spreading near our roadways.

Whether its patching potholes, fixing guardrail, removing nuisance vegetation, or other duties, our crews wear many hats and have numerous responsibilities. Preventing roadside fires is not just one of those responsibilities - it's a big one!

Working on the roadways with so much always going on Is not an easy task, but our crews do it to keep the public safe and mobile. Here are some helpful fire prevention tips for travelers:

- Don’t throw used cigarette or anything that is flammable, or could cause or feed a fire, onto the road or roadside.
- When hauling a trailer, check to make sure safety chains are NOT dragging on the road, which can cause sparks. Please secure them.
- Inspect your vehicle for anything hanging down that may cause sparks.
- Inspect the condition of your tires and ensure tires are properly inflated.
- Keep water and/or a fire extinguisher in your vehicle.
- Don’t litter on the roadways.
- If you see a fire, please call 911 immediately.