Boise National Forest Fire Allowed to Smolder Naturally
Boise National Forest Fire Allowed to Smolder Naturally
9 July 2006
published by www.newwest.net
Missoula, MT, USA — The Boise National Forest is 98 years old, and fires have always been aggressively fought. But now, a small burn northeast of Lowman is being allowed to burn naturally, and there are no plans to send firefighters.
Ignited by lightening, the fire is in just two trees, covers about a tenth of an acre, and is a slow smolder.
Allowing a fire to burn is a historic change in philosophy from Boise National Forest supervisors, who chose this fire as the first to test newer healthy-forest techniques, called Wildland Fire Use. 22 percent of the 2.5-million acre Boise National Forest has been designated for Wildland Fire Use, when supervisions decide it’s appropriate.
