Soda Fire Burns Historic Idaho Places, Looters Take Advantage

Idaho’s largest fire this year burned 279,144 acres in the southwest corner of the state. That figure is from a list released over the weekend that details the Soda Fire’s impacts. The list has numbers on nearly 30 items, including 592 miles of fences burned and 68 golden eagle nests destroyed. It also says 16 cultural sites eligible for the National Register of Historic Places were burned.

M.J. Byrne with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) won’t be specific about the historic sites damaged by the Soda Fire due to fears of looting. She says looting of historic artifacts has already taken place at sites in the Soda Fire’s boundaries. This is all the BLM is willing to say at this point.

http://boisestatepublicradio.org/post/soda-fire-burns-historic-idaho-places-looters-take-advantage