As temperatures creep up and fires are starting to pop up, Idaho's wildfire season is just around the corner. From air quality concerns to evacuations, wildfires impact pretty much everyone.
We've rounded up some resources to make sure you're prepared:
- Wildfires in the West right now
- Fire Risk Index
- Outlook maps
- Air quality monitoring
- Power outages
- How to protect your home
- Evacuation tips
- Additional resources
Current wildfires
A new interactive map by the Western Fire Chiefs Association aims to provide the latest information on wildfires in the west. The map shows fires on state and federal land, but the creators hope to fill in gaps by pulling data from 911 dispatch via PulsePoint.
In some rural areas prone to wildfires internet connections can be weak, so they prioritized a map that could load quickly. It can help people know when to evacuate an area or check up on livestock.
Fire Risk Index
The Fire Risk Index compares an area's relative fire risk with that of the entire United States. When assigning the score, FEMA considers three factors:
- Wildfire exposure quantifies a community's building value and population who are at risk of experiencing a wildfire
- Wildfire annualized frequency estimates the number of wildfires that will take place in the community per year
- Historic loss ratio projects the percentage of buildings or population that is expected to be lost in a wildfire
National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlooks
The National Interagency Fire Center published its Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook maps below to show cumulative wildfire forecasts for June, July, August and September of 2025.
Air quality monitoring
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has compiled information on smoke and air quality on its website. Those include:
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is the United States Environmental Protection Agency's index for reporting air quality. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and health concern.
The AQI is divided into six categories and each category corresponds to a different level of health concern.
Power outages
Wildfires can sometimes cause power outages before or during the threat of fire. Preparation ahead of these emergencies helps prioritize safety during an outage in the heat of summer.
Idaho Power suggests putting together a Summer Outage Kit in case you lose power. Here's what they recommend you put in your kit:
- Bottled water (five gallons per person)
- Matches
- Blankets
- Non-perishable food (canned food, crackers, etc.)
- Non-electric can opener
- Baby food or formula and diapers
- Pet food
- First aid kit
- Prescription medications
- Battery- or solar-powered chargers for your devices
- Battery-powered radio and clock, flashlight and fans
- Extra batteries
- A block of ice in the freezer
How to protect your home
In 2024, the United States had 64,897 wildfires, resulting in a total of 4,552 structures being destroyed, according to data from the National Interagency Coordination Center.
Wildfires are often uncontrolled and dangerous, and for a homeowner in a high-risk area, it’s easy to feel helpless in protecting their property. However, homeowners can take action by taking a few safety measures:
If you're still unsure about protecting your home, you can get a free wildfire home safety evaluation from your local fire officials.
How to prepare for evacuation
On average, Idaho's populated areas have a greater wildfire risk than 96% of states in the U.S.
When it comes to evacuations during the threat of wildfire, that puts the emphasis on leaving early to avoid congestion and free up roadways for fire crews and personnel.
Here are some tips for evacuation:
- Have an evacuation bag ready to go
- Shut all windows and doors
- Remove flammable window shades, curtains and close metal shutters
- Move flammable furniture away from windows and doors
- Shut off gas at the meter
- Leave your interior and exterior lights on so firefighters can see your house under smoky conditions
- Shut off the air conditioning
- Gather flammable items outside and bring them inside or place them in a pool if you have one
- Turn off propane tanks
- Move propane appliances away from your home
- Connect garden hoses to outside water valves for fighters to use
- Don't leave sprinklers on or water running, they can affect water pressure
- Find your pets and keep them nearby
- Prepare farm animals for transport and think about moving them to a safe location early
Resources
We also pulled together these key resources where you can find up-to-date information about wildfires.
- Sign up for the Idaho State Alert and Warning System
- Here's a handy glossary of firefighting terms
- InciWeb updates fire information around the country, giving handy info about road closures during the summer travel season.
- The Idaho Department of Lands' site will update Idahoans about fire restrictions on public land.
- The National Interagency Fire Center coordinates fire management teams around the country, and is based in Boise.
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Using new data, a team of scientists has assembled one of the first comprehensive analyses of emissions from homes burned in wildfires. What they found is that such pollution is serious, and in some cases can exceed emissions from all other human sources. -
The Forest Service wants more roads to fight fires, but research shows that roads lead to more firesThe Trump administration is trying to repeal the Roadless Rule, which prohibits new road construction in large swaths of national forests. They say this will aid fire response, but new research is calling that into question. -
A bipartisan bill that would require homeowner insurance companies to disclose what models they use to assess insurance prices is getting a hearing in front of the legislature Tuesday. -
The team, led by a Boise State University civil engineering researcher, looked at half a million wildfire starts, and hundreds of attributes about them. Beyond the obvious weather variables like wind speed, temperature and humidity, they also considered human factors like density of development. -
The 11 senators and representatives - all Democrats - said that the consolidation of four Department of Interior agencies’ wildfire programs is being done “without adequate analysis, transparency, or planning to prevent disruption during what is expected to be a significant fire season or to safeguard long-term wildfire preparedness.” -
At less than 140,000 square miles, snow cover across the region was the lowest ever recorded on February 1 in the satellite record, which goes back to 2001. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) call it the “worst snowpack on record.” -
Think of the phrase 'The Wildfire Crisis.' What comes to mind? Is it walls of flame marching through pine forests, laying siege to mountain towns? Recent research highlights a different and under-appreciated risk: fast fires racing through dry grass and brush – threatening neighborhoods. -
The idea of a linear fuel break, or LFB, is pretty straightforward: by clearing grass or other fuel along fire-prone roads, or planting fire-resistant vegetation, you can slow the spread of wildfire. New research suggests they may save more money than they cost to install and maintain. -
Wildfire has numerous consequences for the West and, with many statehouses now in session, lawmakers across the region are trying to respond. Now there’s a new tool to track reform efforts. -
When the conditions are right, land managers sometimes allow naturally ignited fires to burn. And new research shows that there can be significant ecological benefits when they do so.
