Target shooting is a popular activity on public lands across our region. It's also the second leading human cause of wildfires.
Wildfires are burning across our region right now including blazes in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. In Idaho, three grass fires were sparked by target shooting. Sarah Wheeler with the Idaho Bureau of Land Management said a lot of factors go into a wildfire caused by target shooting. To begin with, cheatgrass and other dry fuel on the ground are a big risk.
"Different bullets have different abilities to cause fires," said Wheeler.
When a bullet hits a rock or a metal target, it can break into hot metal shards that land on the ground and quickly ignite a fire. Wheeler also said hot summer days don鈥檛 provide the best conditions for target practice.
"[If it's] 80, 90, 100 degrees and you have 35 mile an hour winds鈥攚hich is not uncommon in Wyoming and Idaho, the wind blows all the time鈥攖hen it might not be the best time to go shooting," said Wheeler.
If you are going to go out target shooting, Wheeler said to bring a shovel, water and a fire extinguisher with you.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, Yellowstone Public Radio in Montana, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and 皇冠网址 in Colorado.
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