The land where miracles grow.

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Fire Management

The Idaho Department of Lands is responsible for statewide fire prevention and protection on more than 6 million acres of state and private forests and rangelands.

More than 40 dedicated full time employees and 150 seasonal firefighters make up the backbone of the IDL fire management program. IDL fire suppression efforts focus on initial attack.

The work of the IDL fire management program helps protect and preserve important Endowment timber assets as well as millions of acres of private forestland. The program also enhances forest and rangeland management on State Endowment Trust lands by utilizing fire as a management tool, and protects local communities from wildfire by reducing fuels.

Burn Permits

Get your fire safety burn permit online this year!

BurnPermits.Idaho.Gov - NEW Statewide Online Self Service Fire Safety Burn Permit System!

  • News release [pdf]
  • FAQ - Trifold Brochure on Statewide Idaho Fire Safety Burn Permits [pdf]
  • Updates

    2012 Idaho Fire Restrictions Plan

    2012 Year-End Fire Report (and annual fire reports dating back to 2000)

    2013 Fire Service Organization Ratebook [pdf]
    -Travel Expense Voucher [excel]
    -Personnel Cost Worksheet [excel]
    -Backfill Cost Worksheet [excel]

    Wildland Fire Protection Plans by County

    Interagency Fire Cache

    A part of Idaho's contribution to fire cooperation is maintenance of a large fire equipment cache in Coeur d'Alene. This cache, one of only 10 regional caches in the nation, has an inventory valued at more than $5,000,000. Equipment from the cache is shipped to meet fire needs throughout the western United States.

    LEARN MORE about the Fire Cache by reading this handout [pdf].

    Coeur d'Alene Helitack

    The Coeur d’Alene Helitack crew is a relatively recent addition to the Idaho Department of Lands firefighting force. Located next to the Coeur d’Alene Interagency Fire Cache, the program has built and acquired an experienced and responsible crew.

    Read more...

    Smoke Management

    The Clean Air Act requires states to develop state implementation plans (SIP) on how they plan to control and reduce smoke hazards created by burning on forest lands.

    The major private forest landowners, federal land management agencies, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the Idaho Department of Lands have created the North Idaho and South Idaho Airshed Groups to voluntarily manage smoke emissions from their burning activities.

    Each spring and fall, weather and proposed burn data is gathered each day to help fire weather forecasters determine if burning can be done without impacting the major population centers throughout Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho and Western Montana. Year round, air quality and burning information may be obtained by visiting the Montana/Idaho Airshed Group web page. In north Idaho, air quality and burning information may also be obtained from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

    Our Mission

      To conserve and protect six million acres of private, state and federal forestlands by preventing and/or suppressing all unwanted fire; to enhance forest management on state endowment lands by utilizing fire as a management tool; and to help local communities better cope with wildfire in the wildland urban interface.

    • Contacts:
      -Fire Management Bureau (Coeur d'Alene)
      -10 IDL Supervisory Area Offices statewide

    Firefighting Jobs

      Seasonal announcements for firefighters are posted on our Jobs web page in March of each year.  You can also contact one of our 10 Supervisory Area Offices throughout Idaho to find out about available firefighting jobs in that specific area.

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