More than 200 Idaho firefighters sent across the West as wildfire season heats up

This story was originally published on idahocapitalsun.com on July 28.

As of Friday, the Idaho Department of Lands and Timber Protective Association have sent 221 employees to other states in the West to assist fighting fires in the field, according to a press release from IDL.

Firefighters have been deployed to New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Alaska, California, Washington, Arizona, Montana and Wyoming. They’re also assisting the U.S. Forest Service and the Nez Perce Tribe.

The somewhat slow start to Idaho’s fire season — there are three fires burning in the remote Salmon-Challis National Forest — has made it possible to send firefighters away to gain training while building relationships with surrounding states, according to the release.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little said in the release that this was an opportunity for firefighters to gain experience on the dime of other states and the federal government, which gives Idaho taxpayers a bit of a break. The Department of Lands will be reimbursed by other jurisdictions for the wages and expenses incurred by Idaho firefighters while they are on off-district assignments.

California has about 10 active fires at the moment, while Utah has four and Nevada five.

During the 2021 fire season, President Joe Biden increased the federal minimum wage for firefighters to $15 per hour. New firefighters in Idaho are paid $15 per hour to start.

The Idaho Legislature approved a budget that includes the Department of Lands spending over $1 million to make fire-billing, reporting, invoicing, accounting and cost-sharing more efficient by switching from a paper system to the electronic Gold’s Business System. This system is being universally adopted by the Western states, according to the release.