The Idaho Department of Lands has launched a new online fire training portal for loggers, industrial forestland owners and foresters, providing access to training resources that qualifies them to safely fight fire on their own land within areas where IDL provides fire protection.
The portal connects these forestry professionals with traditional in-person or virtual classes, and free self-directed online learning.With proper training, owners and operators of heavy equipment can become eligible to contract for work suppressing fire on other lands protected by IDL. This adds to the firefighting capacity of IDL while also benefitting local economies.
The Associated Logging Contractors of Idaho (ALC) supports this new training opportunity.
“This partnership with industry is more important than ever as wildfires have become more frequent and more severe,” said ALC Executive Director Shawn Keough. “Our logging contractors and crews are usually close by and can provide initial attack before others can even arrive thus putting out fires or keeping them small and controlled. They also have the skills and equipment to continue working on containing a fire.”
IDL’s new training portal is available at https://www.idl.idaho.gov/fire-management/fire-training-for-loggers-and-industrial-foresters/