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The way we see it …
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So far in 2007, at least 1,972,643 acres of Idaho burned. 1,394 wildfires raged in the state, more than twice the acreage as any other state. From the sagebrush of the Jarbidge River area, to the pine forests near Cascade, to the ski runs of Sun Valley, Idaho’s landscape is blackened and smoldering. Flames roared into mountain towns such as Yellow Pine and Warren, and threatened larger communities like Ketchum and Jerome.
Governor Otter declared a statewide wildfire disaster emergency. Here and there, family cabins and other structures succumbed to the onrushing inferno. Some residents fled for their lives, while others defied historic mandatory evacuation orders and stayed to fight the flames.
Into this burning hell came thousands of wildland firefighters, as they do every year. They came from all over the West, and from all manner of federal, state, tribal and local agencies, as well as commercial organizations. The group included members as diverse as Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management firefighters, Idaho National Guard troops, teams from the Navajo Nation, innumerable city and county fire departments, local law enforcement agencies, volunteers from untouched communities like Middleton and Filer and myriad professional wildland firefighting organizations like the Vale Hotshots.
They worked 12-hour days in 100-degree heat, hacking fire lines out of steep, rugged terrain, sometimes with nothing more than chainsaws, Pulaskis and old-fashioned muscle. Some manned fire engines, protected structures in harm’s way, while others operated bulldozers and heavy equipment, clearing firebreaks across mountain ridges. Some flew the helicopters and air tankers that attacked the fires where no ground crew could reach. Some managed and worked in the fire camps where hundreds of firefighters ate, slept, showered and received medical care. Some from law enforcement and the National Guard controlled traffic and evacuated endangered citizens.
Idaho owes them all a debt of gratitude, and assistance at getting their lives back to normal after fire season.
We commend the administration of Boise State University for reaching out to assist its students who serve as wildland firefighters. August 21, Enrollment Services announced that BSU was extending its academic deadlines for admission, registration and fee payment for “firefighters working to stop wildfires throughout the West.” Deadlines for student firefighters were extended through September 8.
According to the Registrar’s Office, a total of 11 student firefighters whom otherwise would have missed deadlines for this semester were saved by the extension. Missing a semester of college would be a pretty significant loss for those students who already sacrificed so much. So for all you do, proper respect to you, wildland firefighters.
Arbiter Editorial Board