Little declares fire disaster emergency

Gov. Brad Little signed a disaster emergency declaration Tuesday to support ongoing wildfire suppression efforts in parts of Idaho as extreme fire conditions continue to threaten communities, firefighters and natural resources across the state.

The declaration follows prolonged hot, dry weather, severe drought and increased wildfire activity that have strained fire suppression resources statewide. It authorizes the use of additional state resources to support firefighting efforts in areas impacted by the Big Grass Fire actively burning in Owyhee County as well as wildfire monitoring, response and recovery efforts for the now-contained Turner Fire in Boundary County.

"Idaho's brave firefighters are working around the clock to protect lives, homes and communities under extremely challenging conditions. My declaration taps into additional state resources and enables us to deploy the Idaho National Guard to support firefighting efforts and protect Idahoans,” Little said.

In addition, Little authorized the deployment of Idaho National Guard resources to assist with wildfire response efforts on the Big Grass Fire in Owyhee County, providing additional equipment and personnel to support firefighting operations.

As of today, statewide, 530 fires have burned 138,812 acres across all wildland fire jurisdictions. IDL reports 135 fires and 4,447 acres; BLM, 158 fires and 111,625 acres; and the U.S. Forest Service, 131 fires and 4,026 acres.

Firefighting resources are already under significant pressure. The nation is at Preparedness Level 5, while the Northern Rockies and Great Basin are at Level 3. Serious activity in Oregon and Washington is competing for many of the same crews, engines, aircraft and incident management teams Idaho may need.

The governor's declaration notes that unusually hot and dry weather, severe drought conditions, dry lightning and human-caused ignitions have created extreme wildfire conditions across much of the state. Extended weather forecasts indicate those conditions are expected to persist in the coming weeks.