O-SenseOver the past few weeks, the skies of Southern Idaho have been marked by massive amounts of smoke from wildfires. One of the biggest has been the Soda Fire, west of Boise on the Oregon border.
According to the Bureau of Land Management, the fire scorched 283,686 acres, mostly west and south of Homedale, Idaho. Most of the damaged area is BLM property but significant private property was impacted, and many grazers on public lands were hurt.
Below is a map showing the northern part of the fire.
There has been considerable press attention concerning the loss of wild horses to the fire, the damage to private property and the impact on local ranchers. The BLM is working hard to reseed and deal with what will likely be substantial erosion.
There is one element that I haven’t seen in the stories concerning the fire. That is the impact on some world-class gem and mineral sites in these foothills south and west of Homedale.
I know this area fairly well. My father was raised in Homedale, and I’ve visited many times over the years.
I’m a rockhound and love to wander these hills looking for agates, jaspers and bits of opal.
In looking at the maps, I’m surprised how many well-known places known to contain these types of material were burned. Below is old rockhound map that has circulated for years. Compare that to the BLM map you will note the substantial overlap.
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Graveyard Point is probably the most famous. Located southwest of Homedale it contains scattered deposits of world famous (and stunning) plume agate. Found in intrusions in the local rhyolite, the best plume agate appears to contain feathers. You can view examples here. As best I can determine, the fire went over the top of much, if not most, of the Graveyard Point area.
Over in Oregon side, Succor Creek State Park is known for its impressive thunder eggs. The fire lapped up to the park but appears to have not intruded into the canyon much.
South of Homedale and up and down Highway 95 are scattered deposits of a wide variety of minerals. It looks like most of those were burned rather extensively.
One thing I presume but haven’t seen much in press reports is that many of the mining claims for these semi-precious gems were damaged. I know in particular of several such claims in the Graveyard Point area that must have suffered from the fire.
For the casual rockhound, there is a silver lining in the fire. The burn removes the covering brush, weeds, and grass, exposing to the eye what lies on the surface. The increased erosion will expose even more material. For the next few months or even the next couple years, rockhounds will probably find some of the most eye-catching material found in decades in the area.
Steve Taggart is an Idaho Falls attorney specializing in bankruptcy (www.MaynesTaggart.com). He has an extensive background in politics and public policy. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
