BOISE, ID – Officials with the Idaho Governor’s Office of Energy and Mineral Resources have selected eight projects to share a total of $3.5 million through a new state wildfire resilience program, officials announced.
The $3.5 million comes from the Wildfire Resilience Investment Program, a state-funded initiative for electric utility projects that is designed to protect against wildfires, the Idaho Governor’s Office of Energy and Mineral Resources announced in a press release issued Wednesday.
Officials selected eight electric utility projects from across the state for the program, with work scheduled to begin in 2026 and expected to finish in late 2027.
The projects selected to receive funding through the Wildfire Resilience Investment Program include:
- Clearwater Power Company: Install fire-resistant mesh wrap on 2,150 wooden poles in Clearwater, Latah, and Nez Perce counties.
- Idaho County Light and Power Company: Expand the utility right of way and reduce vegetation in Lewis and Idaho counties.
- Idaho Power Company: Underground power lines within and near Ponderosa State Park in Valley County.
- Inland Power and Light Company: Install weather stations to monitor wildfire conditions and reduce fuel loads in Bonner County.
- Kootenai Electric Cooperative: Install modernized, customizable distribution reclosers for more effective grid control, monitoring and wildfire response in Kootenai County.
- Lost River Electric Cooperative: Install fire-resistant mesh wrap and avian deterrence devices on power poles, and reduce fuel load in Butte and Custer counties.
- Northern Lights, Inc.: Install weather and line monitors to create a daily situational awareness tool to monitor wildfire conditions, and conduct drone vegetation analysis for fuel reduction efforts in Kootenai, Bonner and Boundary counties.
- PacifiCorp/Rocky Mountain Power: Upgrade substation grid monitoring and controls for more effective wildfire response in Madison County.
The new Wildfire Resilience Investment Program is the latest iteration of the Idaho Governor’s Office of Energy and Mineral Resources’ Energy Resiliency Grant Program, officials said. An early project from the program included providing the Salmon River Electric Cooperative with a grant to install fire-resistant mesh wraps on wooden utility poles. State officials said those fire resistant wraps protected the wooden poles from wildfire and allowed the electric cooperative to continue providing electric service to the city of Stanley during the 2024 wildfire season.
This story first appeared on Idaho Capital Sun.
