The rehab effort from the massive Soda Fire in southwestern Idaho is a “learning exercise” that will allow the nation to learn how best to restore landscapes damaged by fire, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said during her visit to the site yesterday. “The amount of science that’s being learned here is nothing short of incredible, and I think that will advise us for many years to come,” Jewell said at a news conference at the Boise Interagency Fire Center.

The 400-square-mile burn has been divided up into hundreds of plots with different management and treatment plans, and is undergoing a massive reseeding effort. “A big part of this is research and learning and lots of expertise to say what’s working, what isn’t, how long is it going to take, how should we plan for the future,” Jewell told reporters. “If we have the resources we need to prevent fires to begin with, treat these landscapes, then we can stop this cycle of ever-increasing cost and get back to a more rational way to manage our landscapes.”

Idaho Statesman reporter Rocky Barker has a full report here, and KIVI-TV’s Jake Melder has a video report here.