McCall Idaho Headline News

This summer's wildfires that burned through the national forests near McCall have forever changed the lives of Tom Roberts and Janette Shaffer.

The couple live along the South Fork of the Salmon River at the Barkell Ranch. When the East Zone Complex of fires threatened their home, back burns were set by firefighters.

The back burns removed all the vegetation that held the rocks in place above the home, and an 800-pound boulder crashed into it.

Another boulder hit their propane tank.

Roberts, 48, who has lived there since he was 12, has seen his health decline due to the smoke from this year's fires, his wife said.

"How much damage is being done to the people from the smoke?" said Shaffer, who has lived with her husband at the ranch for 18 years.

"It was toxic. We have poison ivy and poison sumac burning down there," she said. "The smoke just settles down in the bottom of the canyon. There was no relief from it. I even had to start taking medication."

The couple had to move to the Winter Inn in Warren to escape the smoke. They plan to move into another friend's home in Secesh Meadows until they can return to their home.

Loved firefighters, hated policy
While she was grateful for the help from firefighters protecting their homes, Shaffer has complaints about how the fire was managed.

"It's not so much what happens to us; it's how we are able to cope with what happens to us," Shaffer said. "I really think the Payette National Forest is not coping very well with its responsibilities to the public."

Shaffer and others at the Winter Inn believe the fire managers intentionally allowed the fires to burn. She is concerned with how the forest will be restored and what will happen to the wildlife.

"No one is safe in Trail's End (subdivision)," she said, referring to the subdivision at Barkell Ranch along the South Fork. "The whole watershed has burned up."

Shaffer and Roberts love where they live. They have always known of the dangers of forest fires.
"I love living there; it is our home," she said.