by Margaret Gorski, Stevensville
One of the treasures of living in the Bitterroot Valley is the nearby mountains where we can hike, fish, hunt, bike, camp, or just enjoy peace and quiet. But along with our easy access to wildlands comes the reality that every summer there is the possibility that our favorite camping spot, hiking trail, or our neighborhood will catch on fire. In the spring, fire forecasters talk about the winter snowpack, the spring rains, and make predictions about the upcoming fire season. Come summer, if it’s hot and dry, forecasts for “a chance of thunderstorms with dry lightning” become red flag warnings of pending danger. Hot temperatures feed an uneasy tension of fear that any spark, along with strong winds, could turn into the “major rager” we all fear.
After the passing of every lightning storm our eyes scan the horizon for that smoke plume that can only mean one thing: WILDFIRE! Where is it? How fast is it burning? Am I, or my home, in danger? When will the fire fighters get here? We expect fast action.
What many people may not realize is how much expertise, money, and time goes into planning ahead for that immediate emergency response. The effectiveness of fire suppression efforts often depends on prior detailed planning and action that may have started years ago.
That preparation includes not only having trained crews with the proper equipment but also knowing the land, our neighborhoods, and where the risks to life and property are the greatest. Firefighters know that fire has a mind of its own. It doesn’t care whether it starts on private or public land, kills wild animals or domestic livestock, burns crop land, old growth trees, clearcuts or prime timber or whether you live on a road with one way in or out or what kind of home you have.
When that wildfire roars, neighbors help neighbors to survive the emergency. But the time to work together to reduce the odds that someone will die or your house burns to the ground is well in advance of when the lightning strikes.
Ravalli County is one of the highest fire risk counties in Montana, which has prompted county government to update our Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). Anyone in the county who has anything to do with managing forests, building homes, selling fire insurance, providing emergency services, or putting out fires across the valley needs to be involved. Experts from volunteer fire districts, the Forest Service, the Montana Department of Natural Resources, and the Resource Conservation Districts, along with Ravalli County officials have been meeting recently to update our “out of date” CWPP. Much has changed since the last plan was completed 17 years ago. More people have moved here. We have built more homes in the Wildland Urban Interface. Our forests have grown, and vegetation patterns have changed. Summer temperatures are hotter and last longer. Fortunately for us, we now have better data and a more complete understanding of the urgency and what we must do to reduce the risk from wildfire.
Although the planning team has already identified the areas in the valley with the highest risk for property loss and priority areas where fuels reduction projects can help the most, they need our help. A series of public workshops has already taken place to gather site specific input from citizens. That input will be used to develop the final draft that will be available for review sometime in November. Go to https://ravalli.us/668/CWPP to learn more and to provide input about your neighborhood and find out what you can do ahead of time to help reduce the danger and potential for damage from a catastrophic wildfire in Ravalli County. The fire that recently leveled Lahaina in Hawaii should be a wakeup call for us all. Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen here!
Margaret Gorski is a member of the Ravalli County Collaborative (RCC) which is a diverse group of volunteers appointed by the Board of Ravalli County Commissioners to promote the wise use and management of public natural resources by local, state, and federal agencies within Ravalli County. The RCC employs a collaborative forum for reviewing and developing natural resource actions and policies that affect local communities.