Black Mountain Fire continues to burn as a way to improve habitat in that area

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The Black Mountain Fire continues to burn in the South Hills after it was started on August 20 by lightning.

The fire is located in the Minidoka Ranger District of the South Hills, and where the fire was burning ended up being an area that the Forest Service was looking at treating to improve wildlife habitat.

It is in the Black Hills Habitat Restoration Project Area, so instead of putting the fire out, they worked to manage the fire in a safe way that will benefit the habitat of the area.

“For the past several months, the area had already been prepped for a burn, we had containment lines established, we had hand crews standing by to tie the fire lines in containment zones, we were ready basically to do this work, so we just took advantage of this naturally caused fire to do some of the work for us,” said Elizabeth Wharton, the public affairs officer for the fire.

She says fire can be used as a tool to improve plants and animal life, reduce hazardous fuels, and promote forest health and watershed resiliency.

They are still monitoring and working the fire in a safe and controlled way for as long as the weather allows.

Copyright 2023 KMVT. All rights reserved.