BOISE, Idaho — The area between Boise and the mountain along Interstate 84 became one of the largest wildfire hotspots in the country during the early 2000s, according to the Burea of Land Management (BLM).
Since then, the average wildfire size has been reduced by 95% even though traffic in the area has increased by 30%.
Adding a gravel apron to the road is one of the ways BLM and the Idaho Transportation Department have reduced human-caused fires along I-84 towards Mountain Home.
Workers have also been mowing and seeding perennial grasses, according to fire information officer for BLM's Boise District Jared Jablonski.
"The fires are taking longer to establish and it’s giving us more time to respond to those fires and keep them at minimum acreages," Jablonski said.
Data shows that these fuel break tactics have been successful in suppressing fires between Boise and Mountain Home. from 1992 to 2006, the average fire size along the I-84 stretch was 875 acres. From 2013 to 2019, the average was 42 acres, a 95% decrease is size.
This data is good news for communities living along the interstate.
“I think in a couple of cases we have lost a home or two in that area," Jablonski said. "So anytime you can reduce any kind of human-caused fires, it’s always a benefit.”
The success and lessons learned from the Boise district's fuels program will be applied in other areas of the Gem State.
"It’s something we’re going to continue to do especially when we start seeing these kinds of positive results," Jablonski said.
A red flag warning has been issued for Thursday. Jablonski is asking everyone to refrain from starting any fires.
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