A look back at Henry’s Creek Fire

There are fires burning all over Idaho right now, as is typical for this time of year.

For Bonneville County, none of them come close to the size of the Henry’s Creek fire in 2016, which burned more than 52-thousand acres. It started on August 21st, with temperatures in the high 80’s and winds near 50 miles per hour. There was no humidity and lots of dry fuel. Sparks jumped miles ahead of the fire line. The fire even jumped the Ririe Reservoir.
The cost of the fire, $4.3 million dollars. It’s hard to believe anything good could come out of such a catastrophic fire, but it did.

Today, lush green natural grasses have returned. More importantly, there are signs the sagebrush is returning. That is what the deer and elk like to eat. Within the Henry’s Creek fire boundary is a huge wildlife management area called the Tex Creek WMA. It provides vital winter range for upwards of 7 thousand elk and mule deer. There were some sleepless nights for biologists as they planned quick rehabilitation of the scorched landscape. Two summers later, they’re pleased with what they see.

“For the most part,” says fire ecologist Ben Dyers, ” it’s recovering the way we would have anticipated. There’s still some areas that are an eyesore and need further work, but for the most part it’s resilient landscape.”

Dyers says on a scale of 1-to-10, he’d give it an 8.

“I’ll mirror Ben,” says Ryan Walker, habitat biologist. “A 7 or 8. I’ll give Mother Nature 5 of those. We were fortunate with snow and moisture conditions the last two winters. Good growing conditions.”

Walker says he doesn’t go to bed worrying.

“We’re beyond that point,” he says. “Tex Creek WMA produces enough forage. It may not be as palatable but from production standpoint, we’re fine post-fire.”

That’s one bit of good news. The other: when the fire started, no one knew who was supposed to fight it. It was a no-man’s land. No agency was insured to fight it.

“Where the fire started we coined ‘no man’s land,’ says Bureau of Land Management Public Information Officer Sarah Wheeler. “It wasn’t part of any fire protection district. No one was in charge. No fire protection. By the time we figured it out, we had 50 mile per hour winds. The fire took off in huge runs. Miles and miles in just hours.”

That won’t happen in the future. Because of the Henry’s Creek fire, a rangeland fire protection association, or RFPA, was formed. Nineteen farmers in Bonneville County that know the area, know the access roads, are now trained to be first responders.

“It took 40 hours of training to get them approved for insurance,” says Dave Radford, Bonneville County Commissioner. “To cover them in the event of an accident. We have a million dollar policy on each of the farmers now involved in firefighting.”

Trained farmer firefighters can start discing firelines faster than tanker trucks or airplanes can be deployed. These farmers have emergency survival kits, knowledge, training, and most importantly, radios connected to all emergency services.

“We’re the first one here,” says farmer-firefighter Bob Hoff. “Being in communication we can help the other agencies get there. We know the roads, how to access areas better than agencies because we live here.”

Hoff says there will never be another fire like Henry’s Creek because now they’re organized and can get on the fire immediately.

“No man’s land in the county doesn’t exist anymore,” says Radford.

They also have a secret weapon. Hoff is a licensed pilot, owns several planes, and has his own runway.

“We can be over a fire in minutes and let them know how to get to it,” says Hoff. “Might take 45 minutes to get there with a vehicle. We can get there in a few minutes.”

So something good ‘can’ come out of a horrific fire. Radford says they’d really like to get more farmers trained and involved. And the RFPA is a non-profit. Donations would be most welcome. It’s tax deductible.