Our Idaho Forest Campaign Manager, John McCarthy, spent 48 hours with the U.S. Forest Service in the
middle of the Trapper Ridge fire. This unique, on-the-ground experience gave him the chance to examine,
first-hand, the more modern fire management approach the agencies are taking to some fires that don’t
immediately threaten people or property, allowing the fires to perform their natural role in restoring
the landscape.
McCarthy also had the opportunity to discuss environmentalists’ support with the fire troops
making it happen, and to learn from those experts how to more consistently apply this new management approach
in other landscapes. This is his report from the fire near Trapper Creek, located about 75 miles
northeast of Boise.
The Trapper Ridge Story
Trapper Creek, Idaho - When the California-based Yosemite Fire crew walked past a burning log at
the edge of the 18,000 acre wildfire here and took no action to put it out, I knew these were a different breed of cats.
These young folks are not only fighting against fire – they’re working with it because they know some fires are good
things. And that’s good for our public lands and our public pocketbooks.
Pictures of 50-foot flames raging in a forest captivate our primordial fears. Seeing and hearing trees ignite into
torches could be an adrenalin pump for these guys, but when sub-alpine fir exploded into fire brands, we didn’t jump
into action. This wildfire burned in the right forest at the right time, even as a major effort was underway to fight
fire elsewhere in the region.
Read the full story of the Trapper Ridge Fire
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