Fire Season Wraps Up as Retardant Regulations Tighten

But as Idaho firefighters take a break from fighting flames, some of them will be under stricter guidelines on how they use fire retardants to do so next year. The U.S. Forest Service recently released an updated plan on how it will use fire retardants on 193 million acres of land throughout 44 states. A 2010 court order forced the agency to evaluate how to use retardants without harming environmentally sensitive land, water and endangered species. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which bases firefighting aircraft out of the Twin Falls airport, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are still deciding whether to adopt the Forest Service’s new approach. The use of retardants has been debated over the years because they can cause unintentional environmental consequences. Retardants are made up of water and fertilizers that suck the oxygen out of flames. But if the chemicals reach streams or rivers, it can result in dead wildlife and plants...more