07/04/05 Idaho fire season so far

When it comes to the weather this Fourth of July is a lot different than most. Temperatures may be near normal but the rain and cool weather of the past two months isn't what we're used to. Rain has been a blessing to farmers and to fire fighters. For farmers it's been less irrigation demand. For wildland firefighters the rain has brought badly needed moisture to areas that have suffered five consecutive years of drought. OCHOA "We had a very dry winter and it was looking like we could go into fire season early and then the spring came along and pushed everything back. So that has helped us quite a bit there." That's Rich Ochoa of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise. There has been a fire season in Idaho this summer but fires have been small and few. Ochoa says fire bosses are trying to take advantage of that lull. OCHOA "That has allowed us to focus somewhat on our prescribed burning program. Of course in some areas it's been too wet to conduct these burns so it has helped us in terms of being able to manage our resources better and to focus more in the timber areas later on in the season." We could still have the hot, dry weather this month and in August, pushing the potential for wildfire very high. A lot of the grasses and shrubs have grown steadily with the rain but when dried they become dangerous fuel for a wildfire. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott