“All national resources have already been assigned so we are on our own” said Jennifer Russell of the Idaho Dept of Lands. But go ahead and have a campfire on most of the land in Idaho.
I would say we have a catastrophic situation. Where are our leaders? The commissioners should post signs at the entrance to Blaine county and fight over jurisdiction later. Do what you can.
Not to be alarmist, but Jasper could happen here. We need to get citizens to realize this so they start demanding action from our county commissioners (and all local leaders like city government and fire departments, they have the credentials to demand ALL prevention efforts be taken).
As a nation we are at PL5 level. This means there are little resources to fight fire. Yet the BLM lets people have campfires out every canyon round our valley, especially in the south valley ( think of dominant winds though).
Call your county commissioners and register a complaint for inaction to protect our communities. Call your mayor and city council and ask them to rattle some cages at the county.
This is an election season and a candidate forum is a great place to ask existing commissioners why they have not acted. Sheriff candidates should be asked about their willingness to enforce fire restrictions. If we have another Castle Rock or Beaver Creek Fire, it may be time to recall all three commissioners.
Diane, thank you for the information. I was familiar with what Flag AZ has implemented to protect their community. What specifically do you want the reader to do? Contact you? Letter campaign to Commissioners? Etc?
Thank you very much for this critical and informative piece. (and thank you Perry for hosting in the Sun). Diane - what was the response of the county commissioners to your letter? Are there politics or other factors at play where the county or local elected officials wouldn't want to take control of this issue?
I wanted to let you know that we got your email. We are looking into the issue, including how we can work more collaboratively with the USFS and BLM. We have worked with them in the past, but maybe there is greater opportunity. Best, Angenie”
It has been two months. Clearly not much has happened. I have sent them two follow-up responses including a spreadsheet of all fire restrictions criteria for Idaho and highlighted the fact that only our district needs to meet ALL criteria, even the terrible two. Also an email two weeks ago about Boulder County Colorado that enacted fire restrictions on federal land earlier this month. I talked with that sheriff office and then forwarded the conversation and contact info to our commissioners, I have gotten no response.
I think they need to hear from other people. Email them, or call them. Tell them to expend some time and resources to protect our county.
Diane. Wow. Your deep dive into this issue is an eye opener for me. Thank you so much. It is horrifying to learn our area is so far out of compliance with standard practice fire danger management. Thank you for your letter to our county commissioners. There must be more we can do than to wait around for next year with fingers crossed?
Hi Anita. After years of conversations with the Forest Service and the BLM, I have realized they do not want any public input. In fact I have letters saying that fire restrictions policy is not a public process. So contacting them may be a dead end.
After researching Colorado and other states that assert local authority on federal public land I now believe we have to get our commissioners to act. If all our voices go to McCleary, Davis, and Mollineaux, maybe they will get off the dime and do something. Idaho code empowers them.
If they don’t or won’t use the Idaho Code I cited, then they can use other legal avenues. I think most residents would be delighted to have our tax dollars fund some legal work in this regard.
“Fire restrictions are a last resort”.
“All national resources have already been assigned so we are on our own” said Jennifer Russell of the Idaho Dept of Lands. But go ahead and have a campfire on most of the land in Idaho.
I would say we have a catastrophic situation. Where are our leaders? The commissioners should post signs at the entrance to Blaine county and fight over jurisdiction later. Do what you can.
https://www.kivitv.com/backroads/fire-restrictions-are-a-last-resort-in-idaho-but-what-prompts-that-decision
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/world/canada/jasper-wildfire-canada-national-park.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-E0.XoI7.1mLw6O6gSiiJ&smid=url-share
Not to be alarmist, but Jasper could happen here. We need to get citizens to realize this so they start demanding action from our county commissioners (and all local leaders like city government and fire departments, they have the credentials to demand ALL prevention efforts be taken).
As a nation we are at PL5 level. This means there are little resources to fight fire. Yet the BLM lets people have campfires out every canyon round our valley, especially in the south valley ( think of dominant winds though).
Call your county commissioners and register a complaint for inaction to protect our communities. Call your mayor and city council and ask them to rattle some cages at the county.
This is an election season and a candidate forum is a great place to ask existing commissioners why they have not acted. Sheriff candidates should be asked about their willingness to enforce fire restrictions. If we have another Castle Rock or Beaver Creek Fire, it may be time to recall all three commissioners.
Diane, thank you for the information. I was familiar with what Flag AZ has implemented to protect their community. What specifically do you want the reader to do? Contact you? Letter campaign to Commissioners? Etc?
Hi Duree. Yes, get in contact with our commissioners. While the FS has implemented restrictions, the BLM refuses. We are surrounded by BLM lands.
Thank you very much for this critical and informative piece. (and thank you Perry for hosting in the Sun). Diane - what was the response of the county commissioners to your letter? Are there politics or other factors at play where the county or local elected officials wouldn't want to take control of this issue?
Hi Jeff. On May 30 I got this response.
“Hello Diane,
I wanted to let you know that we got your email. We are looking into the issue, including how we can work more collaboratively with the USFS and BLM. We have worked with them in the past, but maybe there is greater opportunity. Best, Angenie”
It has been two months. Clearly not much has happened. I have sent them two follow-up responses including a spreadsheet of all fire restrictions criteria for Idaho and highlighted the fact that only our district needs to meet ALL criteria, even the terrible two. Also an email two weeks ago about Boulder County Colorado that enacted fire restrictions on federal land earlier this month. I talked with that sheriff office and then forwarded the conversation and contact info to our commissioners, I have gotten no response.
I think they need to hear from other people. Email them, or call them. Tell them to expend some time and resources to protect our county.
Diane. Wow. Your deep dive into this issue is an eye opener for me. Thank you so much. It is horrifying to learn our area is so far out of compliance with standard practice fire danger management. Thank you for your letter to our county commissioners. There must be more we can do than to wait around for next year with fingers crossed?
Hi Anita. After years of conversations with the Forest Service and the BLM, I have realized they do not want any public input. In fact I have letters saying that fire restrictions policy is not a public process. So contacting them may be a dead end.
After researching Colorado and other states that assert local authority on federal public land I now believe we have to get our commissioners to act. If all our voices go to McCleary, Davis, and Mollineaux, maybe they will get off the dime and do something. Idaho code empowers them.
If they don’t or won’t use the Idaho Code I cited, then they can use other legal avenues. I think most residents would be delighted to have our tax dollars fund some legal work in this regard.