Idaho Governor: Wildfire ‘mitigation actually works’
Gov. Brad Little’s fire-reduction recommendations spotlight the American West’s tinder issues.
Ignited by climate change, drought and increased human activity in fire-prone areas, wildfires are expected to consume roughly 10 million U.S. acres in 2025 and 9 million acres in 2026, according to one recent study.
Although wildfires happen nationwide, the American West is especially exposed due to its dryer climates and higher altitudes. Of the billion-dollar disasters so far in 2024, one wildfire made the list compiled the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Blazes that sparked in New Mexico in June and July and burned for weeks without containment.
Related: Examining the state of wildfire risk in 2024
With the aim of protecting people and property from the threat of wildfire, Idaho Gov. Brad Little recently rolled out a 10-point plan designed to reduce his state’s risk. “We must maintain a coordinated, strategic approach to improving wildfire prevention and response,” Little said in a statement about the results of a wildfire roundtable convened a year ago to discuss liability reform for utilities and insurers, wildfire mitigation strategies, and statewide communication. He also advocated for a robust insurance market that serves an array of consumers when it comes to fire-coverage options.
What follows is an abbreviated list of the 10 steps Idaho is taking to address wildfire risk head-on, as outlined in the state’s August 2024 Wildfire Report Recommendations.
- No. 1: Work with Congressional Delegation to encourage U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to conduct programmatic Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) and Environmental Assessments (EAs) on existing transmission Rights of Way to remove permitting and liability issues associated with fuels treatments, vegetation management, and ignition prevention maintenance in those transmission corridors.
- No. 2: State-level legislation adopting clear wildfire liability standards for electric utilities based upon utilities implementing wildfire mitigation measures contained in their Wildfire Mitigation Plans.
- No. 3: Work with stakeholders, specifically local community officials, to develop and adopt a Statewide notification and evacuation plan. The notification tool should be mobile and be capable to receive notifications in areas with cellular coverage and in areas without. Evacuation plan should be developed and housed at each county’s emergency management office, and should address supporting individuals with access and functional needs. GIS solutions should be identified to quickly map evacuation areas and to identify values at risk within evacuation areas and to assist with communication of risk and recommended actions.
- No. 4: Continued collaboration between electric utilities and federal, state, and local agencies to prevent wildfire and prepare for emergency response when wildfires do occur.
- No. 5: Expand the capability and access to a new interagency Idaho fire information webpage: create www.firewatch.idaho.gov / Idaho Fire Watch, and brand as a one-stop place for fire-related information in Idaho. Idaho Fire Watch could likely interact with fire detection cameras as well.
- No. 6: The State of Idaho should consider Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Code Implementation and Adoption to identify gaps in building code, develop support with community and elected officials through outreach and education activities, and support amending or adopting of code with county and municipality officials.
- No. 7: Develop a library of potential grant sources.
- No. 8: Develop a statewide MOU between firefighting entities at local, state, and federal level to ensure capacity, coordination, and mutual aid response during wildfire events.
- No. 9: Continued funding for OEMR to offer grants for wildfire resiliency, mitigation, and backup generation.
- No. 10: Improve access to aviation assets for enhanced initial wildfire response.
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