LOWMAN -- Nearly a quarter of the nation's mobilized fire resources are currently assigned to an Idaho wildfire that that has been burning in the Boise National Forest for more than three weeks.
According to forest officials, 1,500 firefighters, or about 24 percent of currently assigned Forest Service resources, are working to quell the Pioneer Fire burning north of Idaho City.
The Pioneer Fire is estimated at 68,884 acres and was 37 percent contained Friday morning. Fire managers say Lowman is still threatened by flames to the north and west, although crews have been constructing line and providing structure protection in an effort to keep the fire from reaching the town.
According to Jennifer Jones, spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service, this year's fire outlook is not as grim as it could be.
"Nationally, we're actually below our ten-year average to date in terms of both the number of fires and acres burned," she said.
A total of 804,094 acres of wildland burned in Idaho in 2015, according to National Interagency Fire Center statistics. By contrast, less than 100,000 acres has burned so far in 2016.
But don't get comfortable yet, Jones warned. Fire seasons are getting longer, she said, spurred by factors including climate change and drought.
"We've got a lot of potential to have an above-average fire season here in Idaho," she said.
This Sunday morning at 6:30 on Viewpoint, Doug Petcash looks into the challenges of funding the fight against wildfires, how fire managers prioritize which ones to fight most aggressivelyand steps being taken to reduce the risk of big fires.
