RATHDRUM — The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality approved the burning of 155 acres of grain fields on the Rathdrum Prairie just north of Hayden Avenue and west on Highway 41.

According to Mark Boyle, air quality manager for DEQ, the weather conditions were perfect for field burning Thursday between the hours of noon and 4 p.m.

Earlier this fall Boyle said he didn't expect to see any requests to burn on the Rathdrum Prairie this year, as the practice of field burning has waned over the years on the Rathdrum Prairie.

At its peak in the 1990s, field burning was used to treat thousands of acres of grass seed fields on the prairie, but when the state began to regulate the practice more strictly, much of the grass seed industry moved away from the area.

“So far this is the only permit on the Rathdrum Prairie,” Boyle said, adding he cannot be certain if this will be the only local field burn this year. “We are doing a lot of them in the Kootenai River area.”

Yvonne Satchwell applied for the permit which requires the farmer to provide safety measures for traffic and fire suppression, while ensuring the smoke does not encroach on smoke-sensitive populations.