Snow fell this week in Brundage, Stanley and at Bogus Basin. The wet weather in Idaho is good news for wildfires that continue to burn. Now we look at the costs of this year’s fire season.
Officials aren’t saying fire season is over in the Gem State, but all the rain and snow of late means wildfires are calming down. Tuesday, the Land Board got an update on how much wildfires will cost the state this year.
The Spokesman Reviewreports fire protection costs on state land add up to $21 million this year, but Idaho will get $5 million of that back from other agencies. That adds up to a total cost of $16.3 million.
Across the state, more than 576,000 acres have burned so far this year.
Montana, which saw wildfires burn close to 10 times as much land as last year, has spent $58 million to put out fires since July.
In Oregon, 1,903 fires have burned 678,000 acres. The Capital Press is reporting that when you add up state, federal and other costs of fighting wildfires there, the tab comes to more than $340 million. More than 8,000 people came out to fight those fires. That’s over a third of the number of people called out to fight wildfires across the country this year.
Find Samantha Wright on Twitter @samwrightradio
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