By Michael Howell
Within an hour after receiving a call in her Great Falls office about the Roaring Lion Fire, Diane Wright, Director of the Red Cross in Idaho and Montana, was able to get an emergency shelter set up in Hamilton to accommodate evacuees, providing a place to sleep, to shower, to do laundry, to hydrate, to eat, and get medical attention if needed. It’s all for free and it’s confidential.
According to Wright, what makes such a rapid response possible is all the preparation and all the great local volunteers who spring into action at a moment’s notice.
In order to facilitate a quick response, the Red Cross keeps Disaster Trailers packed and ready to move in about 24 strategic sites around the state with a team of volunteers attached to each trailer. They also have a list of pre-registered and approved sites, many in schools and churches, in most communities where they will park the trailer and set up a shelter. In this case it was at the First Baptist Church on Cooper Street in Hamilton. Beth Morris, manager of the site, said the shelter was up and running by 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon, only about an hour and a half after the fire started.
The shelters are designed to provide more than the basic essentials such as food, water, and shelter. They also provide shower and laundry facilities along with kits containing a washcloth, toothbrush, soap, shampoo, and toothpaste. A nurse is available to help with medical needs. Lost medication and eyeglasses can be replaced. Toys, puzzles and books are available for kids.
Red Cross public affairs specialist, Michelle Key, from Billings, who was in Hamilton last week, said that all Red Cross volunteers must be certified and they get a lot of training. Red Cross volunteers do more than hand out food. They can also do damage inspections and serve as case workers devoted to each individual family. They do equipment repair and clean up following the event. They are also trained in recognizing mental health issues and providing the proper referrals for treatment. They work with the power companies to help get power restored to homes. They even provide a shoulder to cry on.
This was the case when Patricia Thomas came into the shelter with her oldest daughter, Summer, last Monday. Thomas lives on Roaring Lion Road with her four children. She said that she was sitting on her porch when she saw the fire come roaring down the hill. Two of her daughters were in town visiting with their father. She called him but the road into the area was already closed. They were only letting people out. That added to her anxiety.
Thomas said that she and Summer spent most of the half hour they had just collecting the animals, which included a cat, a dog, eight chickens, a few rabbits and a pig. After that she threw open a couple of suitcases and was throwing clothes in for her and the kids when the time ran out. As she drove away she saw how close the fire was and did not believe that her house could survive. She said her neighbors did not have time to take anything when they left.
Once in town she was able to drop her animals off at the Fairgrounds which had opened its doors to anyone needing shelter for their animals. Then she found a place to sleep on the floor for the night at the Cornerstone Baptist Church and in the morning was able to get a shower, although there was no soap, she said. Then she and Summer headed to the Red Cross shelter.
When she walked in the door and was greeted by the first volunteer she got what she needed most right away, a caring person, ready, willing and able to help and to listen and to provide a shoulder to cry on. Then she got the rest.
After the tears, Thomas was able to talk. She said the flames from the fire were racing down the hill when she left the house with flames so high she could not believe it.
“I could feel the heat and ashes were falling all around us. You don’t know…there was just no warning,” she said.
“I’m so glad we have a community here,” she said. “We wouldn’t have had a place to sleep.” She said that when she left everything behind and drove off, she realized that she had come away with what matters most, her children and her animals.
“You don’t know what you have till it goes down to nothing,” she said. “We have each other and that’s what matters most.”
She had also gotten some incredible news that morning from the Sheriff’s office. Her home had survived the fire. The same can’t be said for some of her neighbors.
Also living on Roaring Lion Road, Jan and John Moats had only forty minutes to evacuate their home.
“It was quite scary for sure,” John said. “When we evacuated we could see the fire and hear it roaring. It was really roaring.” Pointing across the road and up a little way, he said, “You can see it. Well, you can’t see it now because it burnt down, but you can see where it was right there.” He said he believes he saw the neighbor’s house already on fire as they drove away. Neither of them expected their own home to survive such an inferno.
John pointed back down the road and said the neighbor’s house down below had also burned to the ground. The same was true for the house to the south down Judd Hollow Road. Three of his surrounding neighbors had lost their homes.
Jan said she felt really bad for the neighbors. “They survived,” she said, “and that’s the most important thing. They can rebuild. But it’s a lot easier when you’re younger. They are all about our age. It’s hard to think about starting all over again.”
As to why their home was spared, John said that they had consulted with DNRC about fire protection when they built the home and followed most of the suggestions. He said the metal roof probably helped a lot. Thinning the trees on his side of the road probably helped and clearing the ground.
“All that and a whole lot of luck,” he said.
They both said that they were just thankful and amazed at still having a house. But they can’t move back in yet. The flames may not have taken the structure but the smoke sure found a way in. It’s still going to take some time and work before they can move back into their own home.
Besides being there for those who are in need of assistance, volunteers at the shelter also have to be ready to deal with those who want to give assistance. That was the case when Michelle Garrity showed up with her two children, Malachi and Dawna.
Her children had picked out some of their own favorite snacks and candy and purchased it for any kids who might come to the shelter. Garrity said she also had lots of food, a huge yard, some hay and other things that people might need. She also owns a moving truck, which she purchased as part of her realty business and said she was willing to donate the use of the truck if someone needed it.
“I’ve been blessed with a home and food and I feel like we need to share,” said Garrity. “That’s what we do.” She pointed to her two kids and said, “And they need to learn, too, about sharing.”
Garrity was behaving like a lot of Bitterrooters. According to Evacuation Shelter Manager Beth Morris, due to the immense generosity of local grocery and restaurant owners and many individuals and organizations, the shelter was swamped with food and water donations, way more than enough to handle the current situation.
The volunteers were aware of this and told Garrity how much they appreciated her offer. They took her contact information and it was placed on a list shared by the Emergency Operations Center that is used to match up potential donors with particular needs.
Other churches and organizations are at work addressing the crisis as well. One of them is the Cornerstone Baptist Church at 280 Fairgrounds Road. There was some confusion at first since the church had made an application to be on the Red Cross list of certified sites.
“They came and inspected us and we believed we were accredited,” said Pastor Ted Jolly. He said due to some break in the paperwork channel, the church was never placed on the national list. Jolly said that left the church unable to function as a certified Red Cross evacuation center.
“But things worked out,” he said. “We turned our attention to the needs of the firefighters and went to work making sandwiches for the people fighting to save lives and homes.”
At 7 p.m. on Sunday night, the Red Cross evacuation shelter at the River Church in Hamilton went to “standby” status. All shelter residents had returned home. There will be no longer be overnight staff at the shelter. The Red Cross was scheduled to open a respite center on Monday, August 8, at the same location. The center will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Salvation Army has also set up a Disaster Recovery Center at 1285 North 1st St in front of Albertson’s in the former Marilyn’s restaurant (previously Perkins). Lunch is at 11:30 a.m., dinner is at 5 p.m. In addition to food, the center provides prepared meals, toiletries, water and information. The site is hosted by the Salvation Army from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Disaster Recovery Center can be reached at (406) 210-1453.
On Monday, Ravalli County Undersheriff Steve Holton reported that the Roaring Lion Fire evacuation area had been significantly reduced by implementing Stage 3 return status for the area west of Hwy 93 and Westside Road, from North Gold Creek Loop to Blodgett Camp Road.
As of Monday afternoon, the areas west of Springhill Road, Two Horse Lane, Whispering Pines, Blue Jay Lane and Hayes Creek were open to residents only, to provide for traffic and security concerns in those areas. Resident permits are available at the roadblock.
The Stage 1 Evacuation Alert and Warning remain in effect west of Hwy 93 from North Gold Creek Loop, south to Lost Horse Road.