Firefighter Blog: Budget Contrasts California vs. Idaho

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August 26, 2007

Budget Contrasts California vs. Idaho

The Zaca Fire to date has consumed 240,000 acres and has cost taxpayers $100 million.

The Cascade Complex Fire has eaten 225,000 acres at a cost of $35 million.

Both fires are more than one month old with containment dates extending into September.

Both fires were mainly confined to Federal lands. Zaca in the Los Padres National Forest, San Rafael Wilderness and Dick Smith Wilderness, while the Cascade Complex burned Boise National Forest, Payette and Salmon-Challis National Forests.

At one point there were 3,200 firefighter and support personnel on the Zaca Fire. Total personnel on the Cascade Complex never exceeded 1,200.

Forty firefighters have been injured to date on the Zaca Fire while nine firefighter injuries have been reported on the Cascade Complex Fire.

If Fed heads ever get around to investigating this disparity their discussions might center on decisions made once the Zaca Fire entered the San Rafael Wilderness.

The results of those decisions was enormous, not the least of which nearly the whole of two national wilderness areas burned.

Labels: 2007 fire season, Cascade Complex, Zaca Fire