Idaho has spent $31 million on firefighting while nearly 700K acres have burned statewide
Nearly 700,000 acres have burned across Idaho so far this year, and state officials are predicting fire risk will remain high through September.
As the costs to fight fires increase, state agency staff said they plan to increase Idaho’s dedicated funding to boost firefighting resources amid tight budget conditions as staff prepare the budget request for next fiscal year.
The Idaho Department of Lands has about $25 million in its fire suppression fund, but it’s unclear where that will stand by the end of fire season, IDL Director Dustin Miller told statewide officers who sit on the Idaho Board of Land Commissioners Tuesday.
“We’re entering a more challenging period of the 2026 fire season as conditions continue to dry across the state. The significant wildland fire potential outlook indicates above average fire potential statewide through August and September,” Miller said at the meeting.
Many of the blazes state firefighters have been working on include assisting other agencies, such as federal agencies, and it will take time to determine the state share of the costs and reimbursement totals.
So far, the state agency has spent an estimated $31 million on fighting fires, and it is expected to be reimbursed around $10.9 million, Miller said.
Busy fire season in the Pacific Northwest leads to strain on firefighting resources
There’s a lot of fire activity in the Pacific Northwest, which can put a strain on resources, Miller said. Across the U.S., more than 7.2 million acres have burned, Miller said, which is above the 10-year average for this point in the year.
When rangeland fires were burning in southern Idaho, Miller said, the U.S. Department of Interior Wildland Fire Service had a hard time allocating resources to them, because there was a focus on areas such as Spokane, where people and communities were in danger.
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Miller said Governor Brad Little’s activation of the Idaho National Guard to assist with fighting was helpful because of a lack of federal resources.
“The Guard helped a lot out on the Big Grass Fire in particular, by allocating their helicopters and their crews,” Miller said. “Because we were in such a dire situation, resource orders were unable to fill, having that additional support from the Guard made a big difference I think down in Owyhee County.”
The Big Grass Fire is 82% contained as of Tuesday and burned nearly 580,000 acres, according to federal fire reporting website InciWeb.
After this year’s legislative budget cuts, Idaho agency will seek boost in fire funding
In its budget proposal to the governor’s office, the Idaho Department of Lands will seek the restoration of some fire funding and increases in other areas to mostly support firefighting at the agency.
“The majority of our budget enhancements are for fire that align with our fire strategic plan and will be supported entirely with dedicated funds,” said Rachelle Vance, IDL financial executive officer.
During the 2026 legislative session, state budget writers approved cuts across nearly every state agency to avoid a projected budget shortfall. Some firefighting costs were funded at lower levels than requested or on a one-time basis.
In June, the state’s fire suppression fund hit $0, the Idaho Capital Sun reported. However, the Legislature had approved a one-time transfer of interest earnings into the account of $32.8 million, which occurred at the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.
The agency in its fiscal year 2028 request will ask for $131,800 paid annually out of the state general fund toward fire costs to restore the 1% budget cuts the Legislature approved for fiscal year 2027, according to the budget proposal presented Tuesday. The agency will also request four new full-time, fire-related employees and one new financial employee position.
The request also includes one-time equipment purchases and replacements, such as fire radios, tactical service vehicles, and fire detection cameras.
The total request is for about $10 million.
Land board members approve surcharge increase to boost fire preparedness fund
Land board members on Tuesday also voted to approve an increase in the surcharge paid on property tax assessments for forested land with residential structures on them. The board first heard of the proposal at its meeting last month, the Sun reported.
Private and state land owners on forested parcels in Idaho pay Forest Fire Protection Assessment fees on their property tax bills to cover costs associated with protecting their properties from wildfire. The money goes into the state’s “fire preparedness fund,” which is one of the dedicated sources the agency would tap to fund its budget requests.
The assessment is set at 60 cents per acre, charged at a minimum of 25 acres, with a $40 surcharge if a residential structure is on the parcel. The surcharge was last increased in 2009.
Board members approved increasing the surcharge to $90, with members wanting to look into implementing a tiered rate that would differ depending on the value of the residence on the land.
There are around 68,000 parcels that will be affected by the new surcharge, said State Forest Julia Lauch.
