Sawtooth National Forest Schedules Prescribed Fires

JEROME, Idaho — Sawtooth National Forest is planning prescribed fire operations beginning around Oct. 1, pending all required approvals. We estimate this work to continue through the winter as weather conditions allow. We use prescribed fires to help reduce overgrown vegetation to help protect local communities, infrastructure, and natural resources from wildfires. 

Prescribed fires planned for the area include: 

• Albion Aspen Restoration Project – Up to 5,000 acres of treatment may occur on the southern portion of the Minidoka Ranger District’s Albion Division west of Almo.  
• Goose Creek Project – Up to 1,000 acres of single-tree burning may occur following adequate precipitation on the southeast portion of the Minidoka Ranger District’s Cassia Division, south and west of Oakley.  
• Paradise Prescribed Burn – Up to 3,700 acres of treatment may occur on the Fairfield Ranger District near the South Fork of the Boise River north of the Methodist Church Camp.  
• Routine Pile Burning – Crews will conduct pile burning operations where hand and machine piles have accumulated after fuels treatments, timber sales, and wildland fire operations on the Minidoka Ranger District, the Fairfield Ranger District and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. Pile burning will only occur after adequate precipitation.  

Those areas may close to the public for several days for public safety. Watch for warning signs along roads near all prescribed fire areas before and during burns.  

Residents may experience smoke during the prescribed burns. Go to https://fire.airnow.gov/ to find more detailed information about air quality. When driving, slow down and turn on your headlights when you encounter smoke on the road. 

We will evaluate weather conditions in the hours before a burn begins. If conditions warrant, scheduled prescribed fire activities may be canceled. 

Stay informed about the scheduled prescribed fires through the Sawtooth National Forest Facebook Page, https://www.facebook.com/sawtoothnationalforest. We will notify county emergency management officials when burning begins.   

About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.