Fire officials with the Twin Falls District of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management have scheduled a prescribed burn for later this fall in Martin Canyon, an isolated drainage in the hills east of Bellevue.
A news release from the BLM asks Wood River Valley residents and recreationists to be aware that the fire operation is taking place if they spot smoke rising from the area between late October and early November. Martin Canyon is a southwest-trending side drainage to Seamans Creek, the major mountain valley east of Bellevue.
According to agency officials, the purpose of the prescribed burn is to clean up a portion of Martin Canyon that was selectively logged last spring. The effort is part of an extensive restoration project the BLM has been conducting in Martin Canyon during the past several years.
BLM officials are conducting the burn to restore ecosystem health, improve wildlife habitat and stimulate growth of aspen stands.
Fire and fuels specialists conduct prescribed burns during the autumn when weather conditions allow fire crews to maintain control of the fire, the news release states. The prescribed burn in Martin Canyon will be conducted when weather forecasts indicate that smoke impacts to the Wood River Valley will be minimal, officials said.
BLM officials will no doubt wish to avoid repeating the events that saw a prescribed fire jump containment lines in the Smiley Creek area in the upper Sawtooth Valley in mid-September and race straight for state Highway 75.
The controlled burn was actually just preparation for the planned prescribed fire scheduled for later in the month, Sawtooth National Forest spokeswoman Kim Pierson said. Fire crews on the Pole Creek Aspen Restoration project set a fire to create a "black line" around the 550-acre control area where the prescribed burn was to take place.
A total of 50 firefighters, including a 20-man Forest Service Hotshot crew, four helicopters and four air tankers were able to contain the Pole Creek fire after several days. Wood River Valley fire departments also responded to the blaze.
While the total area scheduled for treatment in Martin Canyon is about 900 acres, just 90 to 200 acres is scheduled for burning this fall.
For additional information on the prescribed burn planned for Martin Canyon, contact Sky Buffat at (208) 308-4198.
