Idaho's RFPAs were formed in 2013 by ranchers, who are trained by the BLM and assist federal and state agencies in fighting wildfires.

RFPA members use their own equipment, but the addition of these new engines and slip-in units will significantly boost their capacity, said Castleford rancher Michael Guerry, chairman of the Three Creek RFPA.

IDL purchased some of the equipment through with state general fund dollars and grant funding from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and acquired some through the Federal Excess Personal Property program.

The Owyhee RFPA was given some new equipment to fight fires on both public and private grazing land. The association chairmen tell me they have been waiting on this equipment for years and they're relieved to finally have a new fleet to fight wildfires.

"The reason that we need all the equipment is so we can get to the fires faster," Owyhee RFPA Chairman Doug Rutan told KTVB. "If you can get to them while they're small you can put them out with water."

Modeled after Oregon's fire protection associations, they were established in Idaho in 2012: the first in Mountain Home, followed by the group in the Owyhee Rangelands.

"There's holes in the roof, there's lots of maintenance issues. I think rebuilding may be the way to go," says Collins.

Before that happens, City Councilman Cautero would like to see what it will take to get the Department up to shape.

"I recommended that the Council receive from the Fire Department and the city manager a comprehensive fire department reinvestment plan. That would include vehicles as well as facilities going forward," says Cautero.