BOISE, Idaho — It's not fire season yet, but fire crews and agencies are already gearing up for it. And this pandemic is impacting how they plan to battle the flames.
As you can imagine, the coronavirus pandemic is creating a different type of challenge for firefighters.
KTVB spoke with the National Interagency Fire Center Friday, also known as NIFC, about how they plan to handle any hurdles brought on by COVID-19.
Jessica Gardetto is a spokesperson for NIFC. She says the agency has created wildland fire response plans to guide their firefighting efforts during the pandemic.
That plan includes ways to ensure firefighters don't get sick and that they'll still be able to conduct fire suppression efforts.
The plan also outlines how to handle things during those firefighting efforts, because as we all know firefighting requires a lot of close contact and firefighters have to work closely together.
"So for example, one of the things we're looking at is the public is probably not going to see large fire camps during this pandemic, because large fire camps require a lot of people to be located close together, so we're looking at dispersing fire camps, dispersing firefighters as much as we can, and to really limit the potential for spread as much as possible while still ensure efficient fire suppression efforts," Gardetto said.
NIFC predicts this year's fire season has the potential for above normal fire activity, especially in areas like southern Idaho where we didn't have a lot of snowpack.
And that above normal fire potential is fueling more concerns because it means we could have a lot of fire activity during this pandemic.
COVID-19 has also impacted efforts in other ways as well. A lot of off-season training and preparations were put on hold. And crews will also be reduced in size this summer.
Also, a big unknown right now, how much out-of-state assistance will be offered.
While firefighting is essential, it's unclear if states will place travel limitations for fire crews.
Meantime, NIFC asks that people be especially diligent this year because unfortunately, a lot of wildfires are caused by people, and the last thing firefighters need especially during a pandemic is more human-caused fires.
RELATED: Wildfire agencies develop plans to protect crews and the public during coronavirus pandemic