Murphy Woodhouse
Mountain West News Bureau Boise ReporterExpertise: Audio production, field reporting, photography, wildfire policy
Education: University of Montana + University of Arizona
Highlights
- I’m fluent in Spanish and love putting Spanish on the air
- I’m an all-conditions bike commuter and e-bike evangelist – EVERY day is a good day to ride
- I’ve seen two total solar eclipses, and intend to see many more before I die
Experience
I joined Boise State Public Radio and the Mountain West News Bureau (MWNB) in April 2023 after about a decade working as a print and radio reporter on both sides of the Arizona-Sonora border. Most recently I was based in the Sonoran capital Hermosillo working for the Phoenix NPR affiliate KJZZ. At the MWNB, I’ve tried to leverage my past experience as a wildland firefighter to provide listeners with informed coverage of a number of key issues in wildland fire. I’m especially interested in efforts to improve the famously challenging and dangerous working conditions on the fireline.
I’ve been a news photographer for a number of years now, but have more recently decided to really hone my skills. As a part of that, I try to have a camera on me whenever I’m out and about. I love sharing images that capture something essential about wherever I’m shooting, like young folks flinging themselves off the Greenbelt truss bridge last summer or car lights stretching along Highway 28 as meteors streak overhead in the lonely Lemhi Valley.
Email: Trail tips? Story tips? Know a secret the public ought to hear? Drop me a line!
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After being shut down “indefinitely” at the start of April, the registration portal of the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer is operational again. The registry is considered by many to be one of the largest and most promising efforts to further understand cancer risks among firefighters, including wildland firefighters. -
Federal forecasters are warning that the fire season could be very active across broad swaths of our region this July and August. -
In recent months, the U.S. Senate Budget Committee and the Federal Insurance Office have each released detailed data on insurance premiums, non-renewals and other key metrics. The advocacy groups Public Citizen and The Revolving Door Project brought that data to life with interactive maps. -
On Tuesday night, the Boise City Council voted 5 to 1 to adopt the LGBTQ+ flag as one of three official city flags. Both supporters and opponents showed up at City Hall. -
The goal is to boost domestic mining of lithium and other minerals officials say are critical to national security and the economy. -
New research shows that job growth in our region has been faster in areas with serious wildfire danger, a trend that raises the prospect of serious economic fallout from major blazes. -
For example, Utah’s Zion National Park has four days annually on average above 92.4 degrees – its 99th percentile temperature. That could jump to 21 days, or even higher. -
Federal layoffs shut down registry that studied links between firefighters and cancer ‘indefinitely’The move comes in the wake of massive Trump administration layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services, the parent agency of the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which runs the program. -
Much of southern Arizona and New Mexico are expected to see above average potential for wildfire in April. -
Wildfires have grown in size in recent decades – but they still pale in comparison to centuries pastIn recent decades, wildfires have gotten larger and more intense, and community-destroying blazes are an increasingly common occurrence. But new research looking at centuries of wildfires shows that compared with fires in the 19th and earlier centuries, today’s blazes pale in comparison – at least in terms of size.
