After destructive wildfire season, Idaho leaders say the state is actively preparing for the future

BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) — As wildfires spread across homes in Southern California, Idaho Gov. Brad Little said the state of Idaho is working to prevent similar devastation from happening in Idaho. 

At a press conference on Friday morning in Boise, Little and state agency leaders shared progress on how the state is implementing recommendations from the governor’s office’s inaugural Wildfire Report created in August, including financing and improving fire mitigation technology, helping utilities protect their infrastructure and supporting legislation to help protect Idaho homes and insurance rates. 

“The devastating southern California fires are heartbreaking, and we continue to pray for the many families impacted,” Little said. “However, the extent of the damage is, unfortunately, not altogether surprising. The decisions of California’s elected leaders have made many places in the Golden State unsafe to live. The opposite is happening in Idaho. We are strategically and proactively reducing fire risk and ensuring Idahoans’ property is covered.”

Idaho agencies take steps to improve fire suppression technology, energy infrastructure

For the 2026 fiscal year, Little is recommending $100 million for fire management in Idaho — $60 million of which would replenish the Fire Suppression Deficiency Fund depleted during the 2024 fire season and $40 million which would cover the five-year average of fire suppression expenditures. The governor’s budget also includes funds to support wildland firefighter bonuses to help recruit workers. 

Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller said Idaho’s population — which hit 2 million people last year — is growing. That means the department is seeing more human caused fires than before, and there are more fires in the wild and urban interface, he said.

Miller said the department is working to establish enhanced fire detection camera tools, satellite protection services and enhancing the state’s aviation management program.  

Richard Stover, the administrator of the Idaho’s Governor’s Office of Energy and Mineral Resources, said his office is also investing in protecting utility infrastructure through its Idaho Energy Resiliency Grant Program. 

This year, the grant has funded 23 projects across Idaho, costing $22 million, to help mostly small rural municipal cooperative utilities protect their power lines and transmission poles from wildfire, he said. 

As for out of state partnerships, Idaho Office of Emergency Management Director Brad Richy said he is proud of Idaho’s ability to help other states during natural disasters. 

“The greatest thing about Idaho is the neighbors helping neighbors,” Richy said, noting that the office has sent 104 Idaho firefighters to suppress the fires in California.

Idaho Department of Insurance director proposes bill to ease wildfire risk, insurance rates

On Wednesday, Idaho Department of Insurance Director Dean Cameron introduced a bill to help homeowners mitigate wildfire risk and stabilize the insurance market in Idaho. 

This year, nearly one million acres burned from wildfires in Idaho. Additionally, 140 structures were burned by fire — 41 of which were residences — Cameron told the House Business Committee on Wednesday.

At the press conference, Cameron said his office regularly receives calls from individuals whose homeowners insurance is going up or their insurance is dropping their coverage.

There are 91 insurance companies in Idaho that sell homeowners insurance. In 2023, 22 of those companies asked to discontinue or not renew their policies in Idaho, Cameron said.

“Now we’re getting calls given the California fires about how to harden their homes, how to prevent the loss of property,” he said. 

The purpose of House Bill 17, called the “Idaho Wildfire Risk Mitigation and Stabilization Pool Act,” is to assist homeowners against wildfire, keep insurance rates down and attract insurance companies to Idaho. 

The bill would create a financial pool from existing resources to provide grants to homeowners to create fire mitigation upgrades on their property. These upgrades may include roof replacements, mesh screen installations and shrubbery reduction, Cameron told the committee on Wednesday. It would have no impact on the general fund. Additionally, the bill would create a 12-member board consisting of state officials, insurance, forest products, and fire industry experts who would develop strategies to stabilize the insurance market.

Cameron said some southern states have implemented a similar pool of funds for hurricanes, which effectively led to a drop in insurance rates in those states.

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