Wildland fire training conference set in Havre

Havre Daily News staff

Local and state agencies are holding a two-day wildland training conference in Havre in January.

The conference, coming just months after the nationally ranked East Fork Fire in the Bear Paw Mountains, is free and open to anyone who wants to attend, Don Pyrah of the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation said.

The training sessions are part of DNRC’s fire management agreements with local governments, he said.

The sessions, to which people are invited by DNRC, Montana Disaster and Emergency Services, Blaine and Hill counties, Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation and local volunteer fire departments, will have six three-hour sessions over the two days, Jan. 13 and 14.

People can attend one or more session, a flyer about the sessions says.

Pyrah said no one has ever been turned away from the training conferences, but the organizers are asking people to RSVP by Dec. 29 so they know what space will be required. The conference is set to be held in the Havre Fire Department at 520 Fourth St., but more space will be found if enough people respond, he said.

The six topics covered will be Fire Weather with National Weather Service; Fireline Communications; Fireline Tactics; Fireline Leadership and Incident Command; Using Fire to Fight Fire, and GPS and Mapping tools.

Each day starts with an opening at 8 a.m., then sessions at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

People are asked to visit http://bit.ly/2DftKlq for more information and to sign up.

For more information about the conference, people can contact Don Pyrah, fire management officer, at 535-1906; Mike Wendland, Hill County firewarden, at 265-2445; Dave Sheppard, Hill County DES, 262-5176, or Kraig Hansen, Blaine County firewarden, at 945-1352.