MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho — A 22-mile section of Interstate 84 east of Mountain Home was closed Tuesday morning to allow Bureau of Land Management crews to burn vegetation along the highway.
The Idaho Transportation Department said the closure will be for westbound traffic only between Exit 112 and Exit 90. Traffic will be detoured off I-84 at Exit 112 (Hammett Hill Road), travel on Old Highway 30, and rejoin the interstate at Exit 90 (I-84B in Mountain Home).
"We definitely want to thank ITD for being a great partner every year," said Jared Jablonski, fire information officer for the Boise District BLM. "We have spring meetings every year and we work together on mitigating fire risk along the highway."
ITD has partnered with the Boise District BLM on vegetation control since 2007. Fire starts along this section of I-84 has dropped significantly since then.
"The savings to the taxpayer from this activity are considerable," said Carl Vaughn, ITD foreman out of Mountain Home. "Fewer starts means we don't have to close the road, firefighters can be deployed elsewhere, and public and private land adjacent to the Interstate are spared the damage of catastrophic wildfires. It's also helped reduce animal strikes along the interstate."
The BLM regularly conducts controlled burns along southwest Idaho highways during the spring. The spring activity pays dividends during peak fire season.
"When the summertime rolls around, roadside vegetation really does become a problem, as far as unnecessary human-caused fires along the roadway," said Jablonski. "The more fuel we can get rid of in a controlled setting, the more benefit it is to us."
The two agencies are urging travelers to be firewise and make choices to prevent wildfires this year. Two common causes of manmade wildfires are tow chains dragging on the road and sparking or hot cars parking in grassy areas.
