Smokejumpers hit the silk near Grangeville in preparation for fire season

“Today’s where they knock the rust off everything,” said Jim Wimer, fire prevention specialist for the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. “This is the practice jumps for our returning smokejumpers. It’s a refresher for them to basically get ready for the season.” A common sight in the skies around the region this same time every late spring is a Twin Otter aircraft followed in two- to four-person intervals of jumpers floating and circling down in the square ram-air parachutes. Last Wednesday, April 24, an eight-person load conducted a training jump southeast of Grangeville at a field near the Mt. Idaho transfer station. According to smokejumper base manager Nick Stanzak, last week’s group was made up of returnees with between two to 20 years of experience, conducting an annual refresher on techniques and skill-sets.
Idaho County Free Press

Experts urge Idaho homeowners to prepare for wildfire season

VIDEO: May is Wildfire Awareness Month. Experts are urging homeowners to prepare for the wildfire season with a few steps. On Monday, over 80 public policy makers and insurance commissioners gathered at The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise to hear what engineers' findings. The event was organized by the Idaho Department of Insurance. The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, has a facility in South Carolina. They can create scenarios of wildfire embers and flames approaching, then destroying homes. They study things such as what happens if they move something away, or switch materials on a house. On Monday, they shared what they've found to prevent destruction. "There are three key features based on science, that homeowners can absolutely do," Anne Cope, Engineer at IBHS told Idaho's News Channel 7.
KTVB-TV NBC 7 Boise