Boise Firefighters fought fire with fire while using back-burning to protect homes from the Valley Fire in the Boise Foothills. The tactic is used to reduce unburned fuels close to homes.

The department said on X, formerly Twitter, that crews were conducting “proactive fire operations” so they could protect the containment lines that had been set up around the growing Valley Fire. Boise Fire said it appreciated the “concerned calls” but wanted to assure residents they weren’t seeing a change in the fire’s behavior toward the city.