“I think the most important point is that we need to figure out how to live with fire,” said Penny Morgan, professor of fire sciences at the University of Idaho College of Natural Resources. “All of that depends on having lots of people having conversations about fire and fire effects, and that is not an easy conversation. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions.”
Morgan said Idaho has a long history of large fires, and if fire seasons continue to worsen, as predicted, those conversations will need to take place yearly.
Assessing the damage will help in determining how likely areas are to grow back and which could potentially be used as a fire line in case another fire starts nearby, Morgan said. Even within the perimeter of a fire there can be areas that have burned more severely than others. The surviving trees in areas not scorched can spread new seeds through the wind and begin re-building the area, Morgan said.
Morgan said 95 percent of fires are suppressed before they get big, but there is also risk with suppression.
“The more we suppress, the more fuels will accumulate and eventually we will have more intense fires,” she said.
Techniques such as controlled burns and clearing out built-up fuels can help, but such methods aren’t the only solutions and in some areas they many not even be viable solutions.
Lester Erwin, fire chief for Whitman County Rural Fire District 12, said prescribed or controlled burns can help combat large fires, but it isn’t as effective in his district, which consists mostly of farm land.
“We don’t have a lot of woods and trees in our area. We are mainly agricultural, so our fire season is based on the crops that farmers are growing,” he said. “Pretty much for us, there is not a lot we can change.”
Erwin said fire districts can perform some pre-fire planning. The Moscow Fire District, for example could, take action in the Moscow Mountain area.
“If we don’t get any snow it could be another bad year next year,” Erwin said. “You have to take it year by year and see what happens.”
In some cases forest fires can be beneficial.
Morgan said 80 percent of water that people depend on comes from the forests, and in the absence of fire, the forests become more dense and absorb more water.
“Bigger fires and what they do in the forest can really benefit us in the long term. Part of it is just recognizing and anticipating that fires are going to happen and take responsibility for that, and also recognizing that fire has been a part of our world for thousands of years,” she said. “We have to really learn to live with fire, learn to coexist with fire.”
For people who have properties in those at-risk areas, building a safe green zone around their home is important, Erwin said.
“There is a lot of education for people and even for us,” he said.
Erwin said farmers who have homes by their fields and barns need to keep a green area around structures, so when there is a fire in the field, the fire department can focus on keeping it from spreading rather than protection structures.
“There is a lot we can do to keep our house from burning up,” Morgan said.
According to Idaho Firewise, up to 60 percent of wildland and urban interface home ignitions are caused from falling embers landing on flammable roofs or in other flammable objects adjacent to homes. Idaho Firewise recommends creating a treatment zone and increasing fire resistance conditions closer to the home, of up to 100 feet around homes and outbuildings on flat ground, and up to 200 feet or more on sloped sites.
Vegetation around homes should be well-watered, thinned and planted in designated areas surrounded by brick or rock borders. In extreme fire danger, remembering to clear out gutters and other flammable objects like patio furniture, doormats and flower boxes is also important, according to Idaho Firewise.
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