Department of Defense to start fighting fires in southwest Idaho

Fire suppression efforts in southwest Idaho are receiving additional support from the Department of Defense.

On August 6, the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC) requested for a half battalion of active-duty military personnel to assist with fires on the Boise and Payette National Forests.

Over 250 active-duty personnel with the 14th Brigade Engineer Battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord will be mobilized with firefighting protective gear from the National Interagency Fire Center, in Boise, Idaho on Saturday, August 17, 2024.

These military firefighters will be deployed as ten 20-person hand crews and have advance training with the Mark Twain National Forest Veteran Crew and the Bureau of Land Management Nevada Vegas Valley Veterans Crew.

Both federal hand crews are specialized type 2 initial attack hand crews, staffed with prior military personnel.

Following training, the ten military hand crews will be assigned with the two initial attack hand crews and additional fireline leadership for up to 30 days on fires in southwest Idaho. 

The U.S. Northern Command mission includes mitigating the effects of disasters by providing timely, effective defense support of civil authorities.

Department of Defense support for wildland firefighting is part of that mission and the military stands with other federal agencies, tribal, state, and local partners, ready to respond to wildfires.

As of this morning, 63 large active wildfires are being managed with full suppression strategies nationwide. Current wildfires have burned 2,216,670 acres.

About 24.000 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to wildfires, including 23 complex and 5 Type 1 incident management teams, 540 crews, 1,134 engines, 132 helicopters, and four Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems, or MAFFS. 

Sixty fireline management personnel from Australia and New Zealand are assigned to support large fires in the Northwest Area.

The Southern Area Coordination Center and Texas A&M Forest Service Predictive Services have issued a fuels and fire behavior advisory for Northwest Texas, joining the active advisories previously issued for Colorado’s Front Range and Eastern Wyoming, Southwest Oregon, the region east of the Cascades in Oregon and Washington, and California.

Residents, travelers, or workers on their way to any of these states should be advised and familiarize themselves with the elevated risks. 

For more information about the mobilization of wildland firefighters from Australia and New Zealand visit the international support page.

Note: The current reporting from source data for year-to-date figures appears to be underreporting fire acreage in some geographic areas affecting the overall national statistics.

Given the very high tempo and scale of national current fire activity, there will be delays in reconciling, especially from areas with large fires and dynamic fire activity. Adjustments may occur as the accuracy of fire locations, mapping and final fire reporting is reconciled.

Low pressure will strengthen off the Northwest coast, with southwesterly flow increasing across southeast California, central/southern Nevada, and western Utah. Southwesterly winds of 12-25 mph with gusts 25-40 mph amid relative humidity of 5-20% are likely across the northern Mojave Desert into southern Nevada and bringing elevated conditions.

Breezy and dry westerly winds are likely across northeast California into western Nevada, then across southeast Wyoming as well. Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms are likely far northeast Washington into north-central Montana, and in Arizona south of the Mogollon Rim. The Northwest will remain seasonably mild and dry with relative humidity remaining above 15% east of the Cascade Crest and 30% west of the crest.

Maximum temperatures 95-108°F are likely for much of New Mexico into the southern Plains and Gulf Coast. Very dry conditions are also expected, especially for portions of North Texas and southeast New Mexico as RH falls to 15-25%.

A frontal system will bring showers and thunderstorms to the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys into the Great Lakes, while isolated thunderstorms will continue for the Lower Mississippi Valley with small rainfall footprints, where new ignitions are possible.