The Times-News MagicValley.com is reporting that at least one rancher, feeling that his land was threatened by the 327,000-acre Long Butte fire in Idaho, ignited a backfire on the edge of his property without the knowledge of the firefighters. On a fire that huge, with only 374 fire personnel assigned, I am not surprised that this is happening. However, it can be a danger to firefighters who could become entrapped between the backfire and the main fire if they had no warning it was taking place. Here is an excerpt from the article:
It’s normal for landowners to want to defend their property from fire. But if the blaze is on public land, those who fight fire with fire may end up in court.
The Bureau of Land Management says it is investigating reports of at least on landowner burning the edges of his properties over the weekend to steer the Long Butte Fire away from his land. Such an action threatens to compound the risk a serious wildfire poses and put the lives of firefighters on the line, according to the agency.
Over the weekend, the Long Butte Fire took off near Hagerman, racing more than 20 miles in one night as firefighters struggled to get ahead of it. The blaze had blackened 328,000 acres by Monday, burning public and private land alike.
Loren Good, principal investigator with the BLM, said it didn’t appear any of the privately lit fires — known as “back burns” — got out of control. But he’ll confirm that during interviews over the next few weeks. Then he’ll present his findings to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
When done by professional firefighters, back-burning can be an effective tool for containing a wildfire. The BLM also uses controlled burns to reduce the fire hazard on public land. But it can be dangerous for landowners to light fires without proper planning and equipment and without informing authorities, especially near a wildfire.
“It’s an uncontrolled environment,” Good said. “If the firefighters don’t know that there are other fires, they could get trapped.”
This sounds like the annual who can have the have largest Fed fire contest. Ranchers should not be setting their own defensible space fires! When their means of support has burned-up there is always fast food employment. I have an idea, let the VLAT have a shot. Flashy fuels, little mop-up three mile retardant line? Didn’t the NASA and Forest Service report state that VLAT were best served in flat rolling terrain?