Forest managers in Idaho say the summer's fires followed historic fire patterns that will help forest ecology that was thrown out of balance by a century of fire suppression.
More than 800,000 acres burned in the state, but only destroyed a few homes. The Boise National Forest let some naturally caused fires burn if they weren't threatening homes.
''There is a willingness in today's environment to basically back off, let the fire increase in size if there isn't a firefighter safety issue,'' David Olson, Boise National Forest spokesman, told the Idaho Statesman.
John McCarthy of the Wilderness Society, a conservation group, said the policy is good for forests. ''For the forest in general, it was positive and really what you'd hope to see,'' he said.
Fire ecologists said many forest fires burned at varying temperatures leaving a ''mosaic'' effect. The result left forest patches of different ages - from old growth to young trees.
Kathleen Gaier-Hayes, a fire ecologist, said that will help protect the forest from disease and insects.
Without that variety of trees, she said, mountain pine beetles would be able to attack entire forests of old-growth, leaving behind their trademark of red-tinged dying trees.
She said forest fires, before they started being suppressed, regularly changed forests and helped balance the ecosystems, leading to a wide variety of wildlife.
Terry Hardy, a fire rehabilitation team leader with the Boise National Forest, said high-intensity burns can lead to slides on hillsides, but that the mosaic burn patterns generally leave hillsides protected.
''Overall, we didn't see entire watersheds moonscaped like we have in the past,'' Hardy said of the summer's fires.
Wayne Stephens, owner of Silver Creek Plunge resort in Boise County, said the Rattlesnake Fire that burned more than 50 square miles hurt business over the summer but that in the end it made the area safer and improved habitat for wildlife.
''It's going to make Silver Creek a safer place for many years to come,'' he said.Associated Press via Salt Lake Tribune
