Montanans come together to make a difference on East Fork Fire

With fires scorching Montana all summer long and resources depleted by now, state officials say it's been the large battling efforts of volunteers that have made the difference with the East Fork Fire in the Bear Paw Mountains.

"They're competent firefighters," Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Area Manager Clive Rooney said Thursday afternoon. "They know their business. They know how to run their equipment, and they care about their land."

Rooney said he has requested a Type 2 Incident Management team - a self-contained, all-hazard or wildland team recognized at the national and state level - but state resources are scarce, as fires have ravaged the state, and there is no telling when that team will get here, if at all. The state has its hands full Rooney said, adding that just Wednesday 46 new fires started in Montana.

Wildfires, unfortunately, are not uncommon in Montana, Rooney said.

"It's the nature of living in Montana," he said. "If you don't like fire, don't live in Montana.

Montana has spent $50 million this year in firefighting effort, Rooney said, adding that his boss, DNRC Director John Tubbs, promised to "shake some trees and get some resources."        

Most of the fire lines have been created by locals protecting their lands, Rooney said, while visiting the command center at Bear Paw Lake.

The south side of the pavilion was filled with water and drinks and snacks and sandwiches. It was 4 p.m. when Clint Solomon, Micah Gibson, Gilbert Bara and Mic Mikuski, covered in ash, sat down to take a break and eat before getting back out to fight the fire.

The men, all four volunteers, said they have been on the front lines since Sunday, when the fire was ignited and started consuming acres by the hundreds. Aside from Solomon's cows that graze on the park during grazing, none of the men have any property in the evacuation area, which was ordered Tuesday. The men have been sleeping on the ground, in their pickups, and, sometimes, they've gone home to rest, they said.

Just early Thursday, Solomon said, while the group was trying to push a fire back, Gibson's pickup truck caught on fire. They were "in the bottom," in a hole of brush on the end of Bill Bradbury's place, they said, when Gibson's truck ignited. Everyone diverted their attention to Gibson's truck and they were able to extinguish the fire.

Mikuski, who moved here from Massachusetts about three years ago, said he was a firefighter when he was a "young lad."

"These guys told me the air was clean and cool," he said of what lured him to Big Sky Country, laughing.

Wednesday, everyone agreed, was a tough day and night for fighting the fire.

When the wind kicks up and fire starts roaring, "it sounds like a jet engine coming through," Mikuski said.

Bara said he was just feet away from major flames when he underestimated the blaze and had to make a run for it. He was at the Brough ranch, Bara said, trying to "push as many cattle through" as possible.

"Then we see the fire coming up, and we had to run," Bara said, adding there was a moment when he thought they wouldn't make it.

"We didn't think we were getting out until the plane dropped water," Bara said. "We thought we had some time, but there was no time. It was spreading faster than we thought."

The plan of attack is not very complicated.

"We just see a fire and attack it," Bara said.

Whether it be guys in pickup trucks with pumps in the back or guys in quads with sprayers, everyone does what they can.

"We're just happy we can save their home," Mikuski said.  

The four men said they planned on being on the front line until the fire is completely extinguished.

West of the pavilion was a trailer, where Northern Agricultural Research Center Superintendent Darrin Boss was coordinating volunteer teams. Before a group went out to a zone, they were to sign in. Then they could go. Solomon, Gibson, Mikuski and Bara signed in and went back out.

Other volunteer efforts include the many donations by regional Montanans galore. Hill County Sheriff Jamie Ross said they have received more supplies - food, water, bandanas, medical - than they know what to do with.

Susan Warburton is one of many coordinating volunteer drives. She said they've asked people to stop driving into the park with supplies and to drop them off at HRDC, or after 5 p.m., at the Havre Fire Department.

Several local businesses have also pitched in, some donating percentages of their sales to supplies.

Local clergy like Tanner Howard of First Lutheran Church have opened up their churches for storage or as places where displaced people can sleep.