Idaho Governor Brad Little Press Release | New report outlines 10 priorities to reduce impacts of wildfire (08/23/24)

gov.idaho.gov/pressrelease/new-report-o…

Governor Brad Little and state leaders rolled out a new report today that recommends the 10 priorities to reduce the impacts of wildfire in 2024 and 2025. Main takeaways from the report that will be addressed first include:

• Better manage fuels to reduce fire risk, especially in utility corridors

• Ensure ratepayers are not strapped with increased bills after a fire event

• Improve communication in emergency response, particularly with the “first” first responders to fires – the people who work the land, mainly ranchers and loggers.

Full “WILDFIRE REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS — August 2024” report is here (69 pages): gov.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/0…

The ten priorities from the 69 page report are quoted below:

1. Work with Congressional Delegation to encourage US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and US 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.

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.

3. The State of Idaho should begin to 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.

4. Continued collaboration between electric utilities and federal, state, and local agencies to prevent wildfire and prepare for emergency response when wildfires do occur. 

   1. IDL work with National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) to improve communication equipment, and ensure they provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for crew members, if they are willing to respond to wildfire starts within their operating areas. 

   2. The State of Idaho should create an Interoperability Committee with the intention of coordinating wildland fire detection cameras. Focused efforts to build an Idaho based fire detection camera interoperability program.

5. Expand the capability and access to a new interagency Idaho fire information webpage: create idl.idaho.gov/idaho-fire-watch(/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.

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.

7. Develop a library of potential grant sources through non state funding sources.

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.

9. Continued funding for OEMR to offer grants for wildfire resiliency, mitigation, and backup generation.

10. The State of Idaho should improve state-wide access to aviation assets for enhanced initial wildfire response.

For map updates of fires burning in Idaho, visit idl.idaho.gov/idaho-fire-watch