Fire danger still very high

COEUR d'ALENE - While it appears wildfire danger has subsided in the Idaho Panhandle for now, fire officials said Monday the fire danger is still very high and it is still early in the season.

Since June 1, the Panhandle National Forest Service has already fought 50 fires, averaging six a day. The Idaho Department of Lands has also fought 16 fires on its land and its annual average is between 15 and 20 fires a year.

"The actions of our interagency firefighting forces here in North Idaho are rightfully recognized for their efforts on large fires like the Cape Horn Fire," said Idaho Panhandle National Forest Supervisor Mary Farnsworth in a press release. "But what most people don't know is that firefighters are putting out dozens more local fires every week before they ever have a chance to grow."

Jason Kirchner, spokesman for the Panhandle National Forest, said a good indicator for how busy firefighters have been is the amount of retardant that has already been used to fight wildfires this season.

"The Coeur d'Alene Air Tanker base usually doesn't even open until July 15," he said. "But this year they have already dumped 200,000 gallons of retardant."

The average amount of retardant used by that base is 150,000 gallons for a full fire season.

"Most people just don't realize how much fire we are fighting," Kirchner said. "We are having a busy year, but we are also having a lot of success."

Shane O'Shea, with the Mica Supervisory Area of IDL, said when he first started with IDL 15 years ago, it averaged 30 to 35 fires a year, but they were much smaller fires around a half-acre in size on average.

The number of fires annually has steadily decreased to 15-20 fires for year, he said, but the average size of fire is 2 to 3 acres in size.

O'Shea said his agency handles fires in the rural areas on private, industrial and state lands.

"A majority of our fires - about 95 percent of them - are human-caused fires," he said, adding that most of those are started by the uncontrolled burning of yard waste.

He said in 2014, IDL responded to 15 fires. Three of those were caused by lightning and the rest were human caused. In 2015 they have already responded to 16 fires and all of those were human caused.

On the other hand, Kirchner said most of the Forest Service fires have been started by lightning, with only a handful started by escaping campfires and other human-caused actions.

"There are some days we don't have any fires at all, but then there are days when we have 20," he said, adding IDL is sending up airplanes to spot smoke after lightning storms moved through the area.

"About three weeks ago, we had 20 fires going up in the northern end of the Panhandle."

Kirchner said successful firefighting efforts this year are largely due to the professionalism of the interagency firefighters and the heavy emphasis on preparedness that interagency partners have planned for this year.

"In addition to the hundreds of federal, state and local firefighters stationed in North Idaho, additional support has poured into the area from across the United States," the release said. "Crews from Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota, New Hampshire and from a wide variety of local, state and federal agencies have come to the aid of North Idaho this season. It is truly a national, interagency effort to meet the demands of this wildfire season."

Kirchner said residents have played a significant role as well. Of the 50 fires the Forest Service fought so far this year, only a handful have been human-caused.

"Most people are doing a great job and they are paying attention to the fire danger," he said. "But it only takes one time in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The busy fire season is still in the early stages, Kirchner said. Both local fire crews and national crews are ready to respond to any new fire start, but the public can do its part to help reduce the number of wildfires by being smart and responsible with fire.

He said Stage II fire restrictions are in place on all public lands throughout North Idaho, which restrict open flames, campfires and smoking in addition to restricted rules for operating machinery and off-highway vehicles.

Kirchner said the fire danger is still classified as "very high," but if the hot dry weather persists, the danger level could be elevated to "extreme."

He said the Stage II restrictions are the highest level of fire restrictions, but if human-caused fires persist, the Forest Service could be forced to close the forest to all human activity.

"But that is the last-resort effort," he said, adding that hasn't happened in the Panhandle for more than 20 years.

O'Shea said it is only the second or third time he can remember going to Stage II fire restrictions in his 15 years with IDL.

Before venturing into the woods this summer, everyone is encouraged to review current fire restriction information by visiting the Idaho Panhandle National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/ipnf, or the statewide Idaho Fire Information website at http://idahofireinfo.blogspot.com/p/fire-restrictions.html.

"Our firefighters can't control the number of lightning-caused fires, but every human-caused fire is preventable," Kirchner said.