IDL conducts fire mitigation along I-90

CATALDO — Even with the fire danger level currently sitting at an unseasonable “moderate” level, the local Idaho Department of Lands crew from Cataldo sees no reason to dial back the training.

IDL Cataldo Assistant Fire Warden Chris Myers said that he and his crews have been staying sharp just in case something finally does spark up.

“It’s not been a very active season so far, but that can change pretty quick with temperatures rising,” he said. “We always like to keep our folks busy. We’re never sitting there waiting.”

One way that IDL Cataldo personnel have been keeping busy recently has been helping out another state agency with a project they have simply fallen behind on, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the last couple weeks, motorists on Interstate 90 may have spotted the IDL red forest trucks and yellow-shirted teams helping out the Idaho Transportation Department with various brushing projects.

Normally, ITD personnel carry out these projects to keep foliage off the roadway and maintain good visibility for motorists, but IDL Cataldo has stepped up to help to conduct fire mitigation and give some newer firefighters experience.

“They (ITD) have a different way of looking at it, but it helps us too,” Myers said. “We have a lot of fires along I-90 and if we can keep them to being more low intensity by limiting those fuels, it helps on our end.”

With I-90 running directly through the Silver Valley, brush fires next to the road in the summer are unfortunately a regular sight most years. From hanging chains kicking up sparks to discarded cigarettes, fuels such as dead trees and foliage can be the perfect fuel for a fire. It’s these fuels that the IDL crews have been working to clear up.

While the work isn’t exactly comparable to fighting an actual wildfire, Myers said that this allows some of his more greener firefighters to get familiar with certain pieces of equipment and simply get in firefighting shape.

“It gives us some great training time,” he said. “A lot of them are just starting out from high school and have maybe never ran a chainsaw or had a physically demanding job, so they’re learning work ethic, physical fitness and building crew relationships.”

Historically, these younger firefighters would be doing this training in the middle of the wilderness, not on the side of I-90 or closer to civilization. These roadside cleanup projects though allow people the opportunity to see the IDL crews in action and visibly making a difference in the community.

As with most agencies and businesses nowadays, IDL crews are taking special precautions during the pandemic.

“Our folks are working in smaller modules and not exposing larger groups because our firefighters are incredibly valuable resources and we can’t just go get some more,” Myers said.

Also with the pandemic, Myers and his crews are even more motivated to conduct fire mitigation when they can so they don’t have to face a situation where additional resources might not be as available as they used to be.

“We’ve been told to prepare for being on our own and catching every fire that we possibly can — more so than any average year because we may not have those big influx of outside resources like we saw at the CCC fire last year,” he explained.

Myers hopes that people seeing the IDL crews out and about will inspire them to do their own fire mitigation at home.

While no major incidents have popped up this year in the Cataldo Forest Protective District, that doesn’t mean that one can’t.

If you see a fire or wildfire, call 911 and report it. For additional information or questions, please contact your local fire district: Shoshone County Fire Department No. 1: 208-752-1101; Shoshone County Fire Department No. 2: 208-784-1188; U.S. Forest Service: 208-783-2100; or Idaho Department of Lands — Cataldo: 208-682-4611.