Daines, Gianforte talk about Montana firefighting efforts

Gov. Greg Gianforte and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., thanked firefighters and first responders for their work battling wildfires at a press conference held at Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation's Southwestern Land Office Helibase in Missoula Wednesday.

Gianforte said the facility has launched countless critical missions during one of the state's most dangerous fire seasons, and everyone involved from volunteer firefighters to the Montana National Guard should be praised for their efforts.

"The sacrifices of these brave men and women cannot be calculated in dollars or in acres burned," he said.

He said as he speaks thousands are putting their lives on the line to keep the state's people and natural resources safe with the 50 fires now burning.

Among those honored was smokejumper Tim Hart of West Yellowstone, who was killed in June fighting a fire in New Mexico.

He said Hart's loss is a reminder that firefighting is dangerous and noble work, and while prayers have been answered in Montana in recent days with some rain that has helped these men and women, there is still a long way to go.

Gianforte said wildfires hurt people, the communities they live in, as well as the economies of those communities, and implored that everyone remember to secure their trailer chains, maintain their equipment and prepare their properties.

He said everyone should have an evacuation plan in the event of a fire, not just for their own safety, but so firefighters can focus on aggressively controlling the blaze.

Gianforte voiced his support for increased forrest management including the Resilient Federal Forrest Act, a bill that aims to improve forest management by streamlining the environmental review process and eliminating what he called frivolous lawsuits against timber projects, a bill he has asked President Biden to support.

Gianforte said millions of acres of forrest are at risk due to a lack of management and he's committed to improving management efforts by investing in new and existing projects.

He said Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., has been a champion of forrest management in the senate and supports his efforts.

Daines said Montana's Forrest Service has told him they need to improve fire management acreage, but the Biden Administration has moved to decrease that acreage, a move he criticized.

He also said timber harvest projects are being blocked by environmental organizations which he described as extremists, and the Resilient Federal Forrest Act, which has gained bipartisan support, would free up the millions of acres tided up in lawsuits.

Daines also expressed his thanks to firefighters, first responders and the Montana National Guard troops supporting them.

He said he especially wanted to thank everyone across so many different agencies and departments for their exceptional cooperation and coordination with each other.

He said he was speaking with Fort Belknap Indian Community Council President Andy Werk Jr. about the Pine Grove Fire recently and Werk said it was amazing to see so many counties helping them with the fire and working together flawlessly.

The fire burned thousands of acres and resulted in the evacuation of Pine Grove and Zortman but Daines said the blaze is now under control and no lives were lost.

DNRC Director Amanda Kaster said it has been a challenging fire season for the U.S. and while there are many weeks of it left her department is prepared to keep working with other agencies to effectively and aggressively fight fires.

She also said she was proud of everyone involved working collectively, but wanted to call special attention to volunteer firefighters of Montana who she said are often overlooked despite the vital role they play protecting their communities.

"They are the untold heroes of success during initial attack this fire season," she said.

She also thanked the National Guard Montana for providing a great deal of support in the form of personnel and equipment as well as the out-of-state support they've received.

Kaster said the difference these people made cannot be overstated.