BOISE, Idaho — Burn scars stain the foothills, a grim reminder of the Valley Fire that torched Boise's backyard.
The fire ignited earlier this month, and is 90% contained. The focus now shifts to the future of the foothills.
Although the Valley Fire is almost completely out, crews still have work to do - now focusing on repairing and restoring the landscape back to being a beloved spot for recreation.
"Anything that really had an impact from that active wildland firefighting effort - the goal is to go back and address those things, and have it be really what it was before," Valley Fire Public Information Officer Robbie Johnson said.
When a fire is essentially out, part of the Incident Management Team's job is to repair things that were done to stop the fire - like dozer lines.
"There are berms on either side, which are great for stopping fire. But when water comes in, there can be erosion. People can start using it as a road or a trail, when it was never meant to be one," Johnson said. "The hand crews that actually created the line for the fire - they'll go back and dig on it, and kind of bring it back to a natural dirt state."
Fire crews also scatter seeds to help restore the charred terrain.
"They are also helping with the seed that's going down to help that area regrow and become what it once was before the fire happened," Johnson said.
Seeds sprouting a new landscape, before the Incident Management Team hands the area back to the state.
All evacuation orders for the Valley Fire have been lifted. However, the area remains closed while fire operations are ongoing.