Klatawa Fire Public Meeting in Libby
by Maggie Craig
August 30, 2015
A public meeting was held Saturday evening, August 29, to inform area residents about firefighting efforts on the Goat Rock Complex of fires on the Kootenai National Forest. Of particular interest is the Klatawa Fire, which forced the precautionary evacuation of residents along Lower Granite Lake Road, Granite Creek Road, Willow Road, Prospect Creek Road, Winchester Drive, and Granite Lake Road by 1:00 p.m. Saturday. Pre-evacuation notices were also issued for residents and businesses on the west side of Highway 2 from Pearl Street south to Bear Creek Road. The Type 2 Rocky Mountain Area Incident Management Team (also called Red Team), as well as local officials, were on hand to relay current information.
Team meteorological information indicates a cooling trend for the upcoming week, with daytime temperatures in the 60s, nighttime temperatures in the 40s, and a chance of showers throughout the week.
The Operations Section Chief indicated that this is a historic year for fire in the West, and because of the number and severity of fires, resources such as engines and crews are scarce. That wasn’t such a problem until the Klatawa Fire made a run Friday afternoon and burned in thick timber and steep slopes on the east side of Mount Snowy, which was visible from the highway. Saturday’s efforts utilized local Forest Service and Libby Volunteer Fire Department engines for precautionary structure protection, and the good news is that Saturday’s winds didn’t develop as forecast, which was a considerable relief for all concerned. More good news is that 11 engines were scheduled to arrive Saturday night and be on the line Sunday. He thanked the local community for their generous support in the form of heavy equipment to help build fire lines around several fires around the Kootenai Forest.
Sheriff Roby Bowe spoke about Friday night’s fire activity which prompted the evacuation and pre-evacuation notices. While the evacuation boundaries may seem overly cautious and unrealistic to residents compared to the location of fire activity, the reason is that the Sheriff’s Department and the many volunteers working with it need adequate time to notify everyone, which in this case was about 400 people with pre-evacuation notices. The Sheriff is charged with public safety and is doing his best to protect the public, and he also implored everyone to refrain from "spreading rumors" about evacuations and highway closures...read official press releases for accurate information. He also noted that deputies will be patrolling for looters.
As of Sunday morning, a Sheriff’s Office press release stated that evacuated residents may return home but remain on pre-evacuation status. Current information can be found on the Sheriff Office’s Facebook page at Lincoln County Sheriff.
Lisa Oedewaldt from Lincoln County Emergency Management reminded everyone that there is a Red Cross shelter set up at the Assembly of God Church on Collins Avenue. Animal Control is handling animal and livestock evacuations. She also urged registration with the county’s Code Red system of notification. While everyone listed in the phone book is theoretically registered, numerous address changes have made automatic registration somewhat unreliable. Code Red registration can be found on the county’s official web site at Code Red Registration. One can also call Lisa at 406-293-6296.
Kootenai National Forest Supervisor Chris Savage gave a brief history of the fires that have started as a result of three lightning events, which have ultimately resulted in around 70 fires on the forest and around 18,000 acres burned. That acreage number was doubled in the last week alone, which indicates the level of fire activity in the past week. Over 60 fires were extinguished on initial attack. There are three Type 2 teams on the forest (Goat Rock Complex, Northeast Kootenai Complex and the Clark Fork Complex) and with the nature of this fire season and the weather outlook for September, he considers firefighting activities to be a "marathon, not a sprint." And while resources such as crews and engines have been limited, the forest is fortunate to have several helicopters available, and to have the Type 2 teams here.
Incident Commander Chuck Russell commended the community for its local support with equipment on the fire lines and cookies in fire camp. He reiterated the idea that with evacuations, there needs to be plenty of time to get people out safely. The team strives to give accurate information, and would like to give midday updates when possible. There is a lot of fire in the back country but the highest priority is protection of people and structures. And there is no caterer for fire camp, so the team is depending on local restaurants for meals. He called Libby an "engaged community," to applause from the crowd.
After the presentations the audience was invited to ask individual questions of concern.
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