BOISE — Wildland fire management is a year-round endeavor, even with snow covering Idaho rooftops.
On Tuesday while visiting the National Interagency Fire Center, Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel-Davis announced a $138 million national investment to support wildland fire management. The funds are part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is investing $1.5 billion over five years to support wildland fire management across the United States.
According to Daniel-Davis, the department has allocated over $70 million to Idaho from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for post-fire rehabilitation projects and plant fuels management. Over $22 million of those funds have already been spent.
While it’s unclear how much of these new funds will be directly allocated to Idaho, the state will likely benefit from the funds indirectly, as they’re slated to be used to fight wildfires in the west.
“Boiseans know in the summer, we’re affected by fires,” Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said. “Whether it be the smoke, the last couple years from Canada, or the planes that are flying over that we all watch that are deployed to protect the lands that we love.”
The new funding is intended to support modernization including wildland firefighter training, reducing the risk of extreme wildfires, restoring landscapes that were recently damaged by wildfires and advancing fire science.
“We all know that the fire season is not really a season anymore,” Daniel-Davis said during Tuesday’s press conference. “The frequency and intensity of the fires are also impacting urban areas like Boise — they’re increasingly threatening more homes, businesses and communities every single year.”
These funds come during an “El Niño year,” which could mean some changes during the nation’s typical fire season, Grant Beebe, assistant director for the fire and aviation for the Bureau of Land Management, said. El Niño conditions are typically warmer and dryer in the Northwestern U.S.
“Yes, we’ve got snow on the ground. And yes, the snowpack from this year has been reduced everywhere over last year, so we had a record-low year … we are not expecting to have another record low year this year just based on snowpack,” Beebe said. “Everything depends on how lightning comes in, what kind of dry heat we have during the summer, and so it definitely is tough to predict in January what’s going to happen June through September, the peak fire season, but I think we are all expecting that we’re going to have another busy season.”
The investment is a reflection of some of the more intense fire seasons the U.S. has experienced in the last few years, with the expectation that those trends will continue in the future, Beebe said.
“We’re planning for the worst, hoping for the best,” Beebe said.
Investments like this one are made to strengthen wildland fire programs throughout the U.S., Daniel-Davis said. The Department of the Interior is investing $1.5 billion over the course of five years through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to support wildland firefighting forces and aid communities and lands facing wildfire threat. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also created the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, which is accountable for making recommendations to improve federal policies related to the mitigation, suppression, and management of wildland fires in the United States.
“Funding from the Biden-Harris administration is also providing for major and important reforms to better support federal wildland firefighters, including a temporary pay raise and new mental wellness and health programs as we adapt to our new emerging ongoing climate reality,” Daniel-Davis said.
Emily White is a reporter for the Idaho Press. She covers Boise and Ada County with an emphasis on education. Follow her on Twitter @EmilyWhite177 and email her at ewhite@idahopress.com
