BOISE, Idaho — Wildfires are continuing to scorch Idaho – with 19 reported fires burning as of Sunday, Sept. 8, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Idaho is now at National Preparedness Level 5.
In Boise, the city is working with the Fire Adapted Community network to make plans to prevent and prepare for wildfires. The network is a national organization aimed at helping communities that are wildfire-prone share tips and resources for wildfire preparedness.
“It’s a community that understands the risks of a wildfire and takes action before, during and after a wildfire in order for that community to be more resilient to it,” said Annie Leverich, who is the communications manager for Fire Adapted Communities.
She said it’s not a one-size fits all approach when it comes to preparing for wildfires.
“It's sort of an ongoing process,” Leverich said.
Fire Adapted communities don’t just focus on protecting individual homes, but rather, the community as a whole, Leverich said.
“We really encourage folks to understand the larger picture of what wildfire means in their community, beyond just hardening their home,” Leverich said.
Ada County has a wildfire response plan in place that they can share with other Fire Adaptive Communities – and share tips, tools and resources with other wildfire-prone areas, Leverich said.
“It can be very flexible depending on what a community's needs and realities are,” Loverich said.
When fire does hit, Ada County goes through a checklist to determine evacuations, red flag warnings, spread potentials and what resources are needed, according to the Fire Adapted Communities website. Then – those tips and resources can be shared with other wildfire-prone areas.
“We're sort of the collection space for all of those people to share stories, experiences, lessons learned from approaches that they've taken for community adaptation,” Leverich said.