Wildland Fire Education
We’re dedicated to teaching everyone, both young and old, about wildland fire in Idaho. Idaho has so many different areas; rangeland, forest, cities and high desert, we want to help everyone understand wildland fire and how it works, why it’s necessary, and how it helps Idaho’s ecosystems. Fire is a natural part of Idaho, but sometimes, we have to put it out. Why? Sometimes, we have to start fires. Why? That’s something you’ll learn through visiting this site and the other sites below.
We also want you to know how wildland firefighters operate and the interesting details of wildland fire suppression. So, please explore this site and the others, and contact the BLM if you have questions.
Yellowstone 1988 |
Fire Squirts Summer Camp
In 2008, the U.S. Forest Service partnered with the Bureau of Land Management, Framing Our Community (a local non-profit organization), and local school districts to provide a summer opportunity for local children in Idaho County to learn about fire. The Fire Squirts program is a fun, educational week-long camp that teaches children, ages 8 to 14, about fire ecology, fire history, fire behavior, fire prevention, and fire suppression.
Children learn about fire in the Fire Squirts Program.
Through interactive sessions, creative artwork, laboratory experiments, and dramatic play, students learned about the fire triangle, ecological cycles, fuels treatments and defensible space, map and compass skills, and much more. Students got to dress up in firefighter and smokejumper personal protective equipment to learn firsthand about tools and gear, engines and parachutes, and even implemented suppression tactics on a practice fire. The children also visited some nearby homes that had been impacted by a recent wildfire to learn about defensible space. They even got to “play with fire” in laboratory experiments that demonstrate how fuel composition, wind, and topography influence fire behavior.
Kids dress up in fire gear and use hoses
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The Fire Squirts program has been offered annually by the Nez Perce National Forest since 2000. The camp curriculum was originally designed and implemented for Elk City children by Jill Wilson, a former Forest Service Fire Prevention Technician and teacher at the Elk City School. Jill has since moved on, but the program has become well established. Locations have varied from year to year in order to reach more kids across Idaho County. This year camps were held in Elk City and White Bird, while previous programs have also been held in Grangeville, Kooskia, and Riggins. Tuition is free, but space is limited to 25 students in grades 2-8. Interagency partnerships have allowed this program to expand to more than one location per year and to enhance the curriculum. With Community Assistance funding, the Cottonwood Field Office has provided support to this program through an Assistance Agreement with Framing Our Community, a local non-profit community-based organization, to bring Jill back into the program she had originally developed. Other instructors included Nez Perce National Forest employees from Clearwater and Slate Creek Ranger District fire programs as well as Grangeville Air Center smokejumpers.
Plans are currently underway to offer 2009 Fire Squirts programs in 2 or 3 communities (locations to be determined). There has been interest from the Payette National Forest in expanding this program beyond Idaho County.
Contact: Cottonwood Field Office, 208-962-3245
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