Wildfires

President Trump has signed an executive order on wildfire policy, which seeks to speed responses to wildfires and address what it calls “reckless mismanagement.”

Federal forecasters are predicting unseasonably high temperatures this summer. Local wildland firefighters are preparing for a hotter, drier and potentially longer fire season.

Idaho Matters takes a look at the news that made headlines this week, including an update in the saga of Lori Vallow Daybell's trials and a major announcement from Micron.

It would be called the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, according to budget documents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior. The agency would consolidate the wildland fire programs of the USDA and Interior within the latter.

Federal forecasters say there is above-average potential for significant wildfires all the way through the end of September across a vast swath of the Western U.S.

Tom Schultz, the head of the U.S. Forest Service, is calling for wildfires to be extinguished “as swiftly as possible this season.” But aggressive suppression policies are widely believed to be one of the key culprits in the current wildfire crisis.

In recent years, there have been a number of fast-moving, destructive wildfires in which residents had little or no warning to evacuate. Federal officials have new recommendations for how communities should prepare for such disasters.

Homeowners insurance is getting more expensive and harder to keep. Lawmakers in our region introduced more than a dozen policy proposals in response this year.

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.