On a wooded property near the small community of Viola in north central Idaho, the air is hot and thick with smoke. Dozens of volunteers follow a premade parameter with drip torches they tip like watering cans toward the ground. Only, itโs not water dripping out. Itโs fire โ a burning mix of diesel and gasoline that ignites the dry grass and pine needles below. Volunteers are here for a controlled burn, where fire is intentionally started to reduce wildfire risk and improve ecological health.
The team is made up of university students, professors and staff from local lumber companies and forest management groups. Volunteers move along a fire line, using the drip torches to โblack outโ a thick, dark buffer zone at the fire parameter before starting work inside that line. The air crackles with the smell of burning plants and gasoline. One team member, Gabriel Cortez, is teaching a student about fire, and the best way to use his drip torch. โLook where youโre dropping the fuel,โ he said, pointing. โSee where itโs a little spike?โ
