Steve Stuebner
... Back in 2013, the Pony and Elk complex fires roared over the Mountain Home foothills and burned deep into Boise National Forest. Ranchers lost more than 100 cattle to the twin blazes, cabins burned in Featherville, and 281,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service land were charred in a matter of days.
Speeding up initial attack and stopping wildfires from growing into huge destructive blazes was a major motivating force in leading Mountain Home ranchers to form the first Rangeland Fire Protection Association in the state 10 years ago.
The idea was to allow ranchers to work together with the Bureau of Land Management – and sometimes rural fire departments – to squelch wildfires quickly when they’re small.
New procedures were rapidly put in place. The BLM and Idaho Department of Lands provided training, start-up costs, firefighting equipment and radios so ranchers could respond quickly to wildfires in remote locations.
In 2013, state legislation was passed to formalize the creation of Rangeland Fire Protection Associations...
...With more RFPAs in place, it builds firefighting capacity. Today, about 335 ranchers and RFPA members are fully trained and ready to fight fires across southern Idaho.
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