Hundreds of lightning strikes in Idaho ignited new wildfires Monday as storms passed through the region, according to the National Weather Service.
Officials said five new fires were burning in the Boise Bureau of Land Management area, nine in the Payette National Forest and 20 in the Boise National Forest.
“We’re stretched a little thin,” BLM Boise spokesperson Chad Cline said. “But nothing that we haven’t done before.”
The nation is at national wildland fire preparedness level five, the highest possible level, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Forecasts show above-normal potential for fires in most of Idaho for August and September.
And the United States is calling in some help. On Tuesday, the fire center announced that Australia and New Zealand wildland firefighters would be arriving in the United States to assist with wildfires. The countries have a longstanding cooperation with fires and experience summer at different times of the year.
Monday’s lightning outbreak was above the 80th percentile in terms of the amount recorded since record-keeping started in 2000, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Jay Breidenbach.