Powell County Planner Amanda Cooley, Bill Hooker and Ovando Fire Chief Monte McNally at the Helmville Fire Hall for the Community Wildfire Protection Plan update meeting.
The Powell County Community Wildfire Protection Plan is in the process of being updated and public meetings have been held across the county, including in Avon and Deer Lodge, for residents to express any concerns and provide input on the new plan.
At a meeting in Helmville, residents and county officials listed drought, road maintenance and people that are new to the area and not as familiar with living close to fire as topics to address.
The Powell County Wildfire Protection Plan is a document that helps communities plan for, respond to and recover from wildfire events.
"The Powell County Wildfire Protection Plan has not been updated in about 20 years," Amanda Cooley, Powell County Planner, said. "The purpose of these meetings and the survey we sent out is to raise awareness of wildfire protection and find out people's concerns and suggestions in order to include in the draft of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan."
Cooley said that concerns about the influx of new residents, travelers and recreationalists to rural Powell County and their potential lack of experience with land stewardship, preparation and personal responsibility for wildfire protection, expectations of volunteer fire departments and awareness of living proactively with wildlife, especially bears, have been shared with her through the public meetings and surveys.
In rural areas people need to be aware of the abilities of the volunteer fire departments, Cooley said. It takes time for volunteers to get to the fire department and respond to a fire. Travel time in rural communities adds to the response time as well. Houses that are in rural areas are often five to 20 miles away from the station. Volunteer resources can handle one house, but generally not a cluster of houses.
"We are looking for grant money to help the local volunteer fire departments," Cooley said. "A $1 million grant has been applied for and we're waiting to hear (about it)."
Attendees commented about road maintenance being a deterrent to rapid response time for fire control. In addition, seasonal mowing along county roads was identified as a key element for defense against fire. Limited water resources from creeks in drought years was also a concern.
Powell County Sheriff Gavin Roselles talked about the county emergency response system that includes the sheriff's department, search and rescue and other resources that will contact people in areas threatened by any fire incidents. The system is designed in three tiers of warnings. If people are not ready or willing to leave by the third warning, Roselles said they will be on their own.
"It's up to individual people to be aware of what's going on," Roselles said. "At some point people need to take personal responsibility - we are not going to put emergency workers in danger for someone who refuses to evacuate."
The Powell County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) is designed to assist with the management of incidents.
"Right now there are about seven members and there are four or five open positions for local residents to be on the LEPC," Cooley said. "Currently it is comprised of members based out of Deer Lodge and it would be great to have some representation from Northern Powell County."
If anyone is interested in attending LEPC meetings, providing input or being on the committee, contact Roselles or Heather Gregory, Powell County Department of Emergency Services coordinator. The responsibility is not extensive, but in the case of an emergency members need to be available, Roselles said.
To fill out the survey visit https://forms.office.com/r/Rmt7tB3BYg
The Powell County emergency management page has downloadable copies of the wildfire protection plan people can pick up at the Powell County County Planners office at the courthouse.
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