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P.O. Box 7129
Boise, ID 83707
208.334.8005
Fax: 208.334.8563

 


Tinder-dry conditions elevate fire restrictions


(Cascade Complex Fire, Boise National Forest)

Several federal agencies responsible for managing public land in central and southern Idaho implemented Stage 2 Fire Restrictions, effective Thursday (July 26) because of low wildland fuel moisture, high fire danger and the high number of fire incidents.

The following activities are prohibited under Stage 2 Fire Restrictions:

  • Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire or stove fire
  • Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a designated recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials
  • Operating motorized vehicles off designated roads and trails

In addition, the following are prohibited from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. – a patrol is required for one hour following the cessation of all work as described below:

  • Operating a chainsaw or other equipment powered by an internal combustion engine for felling, bucking, skidding, processing, road building and woodcutting during industrial operations or firewood gathering
  • Blasting, welding or other activities that generate flame or flammable material

Some exemptions are provided under the announcement by the U.S. Department of the Interior, issued Monday (July 23). See the BLM announcement for details.

The fire restrictions apply to the Boise District of the Bureau of Land Management, the Boise National Forest, the Payette National Forest, the Sawtooth National Forest and the portions of the Twin Falls District BLM that are in the southwest Idaho Fire Restrictions Areas 1 and 2.
As of Friday morning (July 27), firefighters were battling a dozen blazes in Idaho, which have charred nearly one million acres; the burned acreage nearly doubled in the past week.

The largest fire remains the Murphy Complex on the Idaho/Nevada border, which is the nation’s highest wildland fire priority. The lightning-caused blaze has consumed 660,000 acres of rangeland in Idaho and Nevada. More than 1,400 firefighters are battling the brush and grass fire in extremely difficult terrain. No projected time of containment is projected.

For information about highway closures related to wildfires and updates on highway construction projects that might impact travel in Idaho, call 511 or visit the Idaho Traveler Services Web site at 511.idaho.gov .

The status of wildfires in Idaho and throughout the West is available at the National Interagency Fire Center Web site at http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm. The center, located in Boise, coordinates wildfire suppression efforts for nine national agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Association of State Forests.

See Idaho wildfires

Published 7-27-07