Fire

Wildland fire management is a large and critical program in the Shoshone Field Office. The size and frequency of wildfire have increased substantially across southern Idaho during the last 30 years, as cheatgrass and other flammable weeds have displaced native plant communities. The increase in wildfire undermines rangeland health, depletes wildlife habitat, and threatens farms, ranches and communities.

Shoshone’s fire management program has four major components: wildland fire suppression, fuels treatment, fire rehabilitation, and community assistance/protection. The overarching goals and objectives for these components are established in national policy and in land use plans prepared for the Shoshone Field Office.

Implementation strategies, priorities and procedures are then developed in more detailed Fire Management Plans (FMPs), which are prepared for each Idaho BLM district office.

The Shoshone Field Office is part of the South Central FMP, which was prepared in 2004. The South Central FMP addresses fire management for BLM’s Shoshone and Burley Field Offices. The FMP identifies the key fire management priorities for the Shoshone Field Office as: 1) protecting communities, 2) protecting sage grouse habitat, 3) protecting cultural and natural resources, and 4) protecting areas at risk from invasion from noxious and invasive plant species.

Fire suppression and fire management activities for the Shoshone Field Office are carried out through the South Central Idaho Interagency Dispatch Center (SCIIDC), located in Shoshone. The SCIIDC is responsible for suppressing and managing wildland fire on 2.7 million acres of public and state land in south central Idaho. The SCIIDC is the base of operations for approximately 200 people, which includes seasonal firefighters, the Snake River Helitack crew, and logistics and management personnel. The SCIIDC gathers intelligence, dispatches personnel and resources, and coordinates a broad spectrum of fire suppression, fuels management, fire rehabilitation, and community assistance/ protection activities.