Shutdown impacts prescribed burns

Federal employees are scrambling to catch up on things after being furloughed, especially on Idaho public land. According to Forest Service employee Lynn Ballard, the shutdown’s timing was bad for the Forest Service.

Ballard said fall is when they conduct prescribed burns because of the cool weather. He also said the shutdown stopped them from conducting those burns when it began on Oct. 1.

“We do have windows in the fall and spring to do burning, so it definitely slowed down opportunities, but we’re burning this week and we got good weather, so we’re moving forward,” he said.

The Forest Service will be conducting a burn in the Palisades Snake River area sometime this week.