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| Bridger Canyon Fire Department |
Today's Tips |
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Great News! The Bridger Canyon Fire Department now has its own website.
It is www.bridgercanyonfd.com
You can find information on Apparatus, Burn Permits, SCZ Engine Academy, Pancake Breakfast 2009.
The fire chief, Dan Astrom, can be reached at the station number which is 586-6427. The new email is bcfd@3riversdbs.net.
As of Sept. 28, 2009 - New category on Bridger Canyon Photos: Fire Sept. 26, 27 |
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Funds from Pancake Breakfast
Hello all:
I wanted to give you an update on the use of funds raised during the Pancake Breakfast, held in May, at the Bridger Canyon Rural Fire Department. But, first, a big thank you to all of you who came to the Pancake Breakfast and donated your time and money to make this a very successful fundraising event for the Bridger Canyon Rural Fire Department. And a special thank you to the members of the Bridger Canyon Rural Fire Department Auxiliary, who worked tirelessly to put on a wonderful community event in which we raised a total of $4,200 for the Department.
To date, we have spent $3,014.72 of the $4,200 raised. The spending breakdown is as follows:
$210.00 Portable tables
$308.36 Railroad ties and other materials used in forming beds
$32.20 Concrete mix
$369.70 Blinds for meeting room
$604.46 Paint, materials, vehicle stoppers
$90.00 Stain
$1,400.00 Bailey's sealed asphalt in front and back parking lot
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$3,014.72
Much of the work, using these materials, took place during a volunteer day on September 19. Thank you to those of you who took time out of your day to help stain, paint, lay railroad ties, and perform other duties around the Department. We greatly appreciate your efforts.
The Bridger Canyon Rural Fire District Board, with recommendations from the Auxiliary, chose to spend the money on projects that involved required maintenance, improved safety, and will improve the outside looks of the grounds. The asphalt sealant, which will need to be applied every three years, was crucial to maintaining the initial $12,000 investment in the paved parking lots. Both outside stairwells and decks received a fresh coat of stain, the shed was freshly painted, vehicle stoppers were painted, and many volunteers spent the entire day digging, cutting, and placing railroad ties to form secure beds in front of the station, around the sign and to the south of the station.
In addition to the funds already spent, an additional $300 has been set aside to build and install a safety railing at the five-foot drop off to the lower bay. The remaining $800 plus dollars will be used to purchase and plant drought-tolerant perennial shrubs in beds around the grounds next spring. Please look for additional information about upcoming volunteer days in the coming months. Your help and support have been vital to making the Bridger Canyon Rural Fire Department a successful organization serving the residents of Bridger Canyon.
With warm regards,
Lisa Daniels
Chairwoman
Board of Trustees
Bridger Canyon Rural Fire District
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| Thanks from Fire Chief, Dan Astrom
Dear Ladies and Dick, (Monday, Sept. 28, 10:46 a.m.)
Dan wanted to make sure you all know how much he, the BCFD firefighters, sheriffs, MHP, the firefighters from the surrounding areas, the forest service and others of the support crew greatly appreciate the food and neighborhood support over the past few days. They were especially impressed with how quickly and efficiently the neighborhood worked together to provide them with refreshments during the first 24 hours of the emergency.
Donations of much needed obvious supplies, like food and water, to little things, like flavored creamer for the coffee, poured into the Community Center soon after word of the fire spread and many people showed up to offer their help and open their homes to displaced neighbors and pets. Lists were quickly drawn up (thank you Lisa Daniels) of neighbors who were out-of-town and pets that may need to be evacuated, and people responded quickly and unselfishly to see that the needs of anyone who may be in the way of the fire was considered. (Rumor has it that the Amende's took in 4 families, and Daryl Henning quickly offered her house and offered it to anyone in need.) Many people stayed late into the night at the Community Center putting together boxes of food and then returned at 5:30 a.m. to make sure the fire fighters had a hot breakfast and coffee. At one point we had so much food that I was worried that we had too much, but it turned out to be just the right amount.
Dan heard high praise for the Women's Club from the many organizations called in to help with the fire, and he wanted you to know that your hard work and consideration were noticed and appreciated by many people.
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Of course, a big thank you to Mary-Martha for keeping the neighborhood up-to-date (and a personal one from us for watching Thomas while Dan and I were gone). It is an honor to live in Bridger Canyon with such great neighbors.
With Much Appreciation and Gratitude,
Jan and Dan Astrom
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| 2009 Flaming Arrow Fire - updates
On Saturday, September 26th Bridger Canyon Fire was dispatched to a fire at the 15 mile marker on
Bridger Canyon Rd.
Fire Departments from Gallatin and Park County as well as DNRC, Forest Service, Search and Rescue, and the Sheriffs Department responded to the call.
As of this morning (27th) an estimated 300+ acres have burned.
Resources were limited to ground only as winds were exceptionally high and lasted well into the morning. Bridger Canyon Rd. was closed but has reopened. We still ask that people limit their travel through the canyon as fire recourses are moving in and out of the area.
Power was turned off yesterday by Northwest Energy but service was returned shortly after.
Meals have been provided by The Bridger Women’s Group and the Salvation Army.
If you would like to help, please stop by the Fire Station at 18081 Bridger Canyon Rd.
Please check back later for daily updates.
11:30 am Sunday 27th
Cooler temperatures and the lack of strong winds has aided firefighters today.
There are over 70 fire fighters plus management staff on the ground.
We do have a helicopter assisting with water drops.
Approximately 375 acres have burned.
Bridger Canyon Road is open to all traffic. However we advise people to limit their traffic to the area as we have vehicles moving around the area.
Access to Bridger Bowl is closed as well as
Flaming Arrow Road
As the morning has warmed up - we have seen some increase in smoke.
We advise anyone with respiratory issues to refrain from visiting the area.
5:30 pm Sunday 27th
Currently we have over 100 crew members on the fire.
6 Water Tenders
4 Structure Engines
9 Brush trucks
379 Acre area affected with approximately 220 acres burned.
No structures lossed, some sustained some damage.
No injuries reported.
10:00 am Monday 28th
From 9 pm last night until 7 am this morning we had one of our vehicles with two fire fighters patrolling the area. There were a couple of flare-ups but the cold air and light winds prevented any issues.
Today we expect warmer temperatures and winds 10 – 15 mph.
Smoke may increase this afternoon.
There will be two helicopters assisting the efforts today.
Bridger Canyon Road is open, but speed is restricted to 35 mph in the area.
Overnight temperatures are expected to be warmer, in the 40s.
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| Fire Dept. Report Sunday 7:30 p.m.
Posted on: 2009-09-27
Good evening all,
Here is a brief recap of the meeting this evening at the Community Center. Dan Astrom, fire Chief, along with representatives from DNRC, the Forest Service, and the Sheriff's department were there to talk about the fire and what happens next.
Dan reported that the burn perimeter of the fire is 378 acres as of Sunday morning. Of that, about 220 acres actively burned. They are not yet talking about percentage contained, as there are too many hot spots they are still trying to manage. The burn area extends from Flaming Arrow Road to the south up north to the parking area at Bridger Bowl. It extends to Bridger Canyon Road on the east and beyond Taiga Road to the west.
There are currently over 100 firefighters on site working. Today there was a helicopter doing water drops on hot spots and there was additional help from a crew from Fort Peck. There were 6 water tenders working, 9 brush trucks, and 4 structure engines. Water is coming from Ross Peak as well as the pond at Bridger Bowl.
Over 80 structures were in danger from the fire, and Dan is pleased to report that THERE WERE NO STRUCTURES LOST AND NO INJURIES ON THE LINE!!! There was some fire damage to some structures. For those of you who saw the fire Saturday, this is a miracle outcome. The Sheriff's department reported that this success was due to the work of our fire department and all the other fire departments that responded so quickly. Way to go fire department! The official cause of the fire is under investigation.
Flaming Arrow Road and Bridger Bowl Road remain closed at this point. There will patrols working all night tonight.
The Sheriff's department has posted a 35 mph speed restriction through the fire area on Bridger Canyon Road. Please adhere to this restriction. Fire equipment is moving on and off Bridger Canyon and they are not running lights or sirens, and they move very slowly (5-10mph) so it is essential that we keep our speeds down. The last thing we want is for a car accident to hamper the fire efforts.
At this point, the DNRC (Department of Natural Resources and Conservation) has arrived. By tomorrow there will be over 200 people on site. There will be 3 crews, 2 helicopters, 2 skidgins (don't know if I spelled that right) to help get water to remote areas, as well as management personnel. This group will continue to work with available local resources for the duration of this fire. Further, Bridger Bowl's dozer is being used, as well as their facilities for staging. The lack of cell phone coverage in the canyon has been a major hindrance during this emergency, so we are grateful to be able to use Bridger Bowl's infrastructure going forward.
The crews coming in will be lodging in a tent city near the site. Food will be handled by County Assist. The numbers of people they will need to feed exceeds our capacity, so DNRC will have staff to take over. If they need help from us, we will let you know. A HUGE thank you to everyone who brought food last night and today. The fire fighters really appreciated everything!
Dan is updating the fire department website as he is able. That site is www.bridgercanyonfd.org
Additionally, Bridger Bowl is reporting on the fire on their website, and occassionally may have webcam shots of the area.
I think I have captured the main points of the meeting here. Once again, thanks to all of you for stepping up and helping out again, you are wonderful!
Have a good night.
Mary-Martha
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| New Fire Department Web Site
www.bridgercanyonfd.com
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Fire Station/Community Room
BCWC has enjoyed some events held at the new community room. It's spacious, and there was room to show Susan Eckert's adventure travel photos in February. For the March meeting, we could move the 'island counters' over to the tables and enjoy a presentation from Olivelle (the Italian Cooking Store).
For all of you that helped with the Alan Iddles’ reception – Thank you. About fifty people attended the affair and the family graciously thanked us for our efforts. It truly was a beautiful and elegant reception.
Eunie Guentzel, BCRFVD Auxiliary President, needs more volunteers for the auxiliary. Their mission is to help the BCRVFD in various ways. Please call her at 582-1640 to offer to help. This is a wonderful way to give back to our BC Community.
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| U.S. Fire Administration
U.S. Fire
Administration
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| Firewise Communities
http://www.firewise.org/index.php
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| Firehouse Network
http://cms.firehouse.com/content/fhnet/
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| National Volunteer FIre Council & Bringing Volunteers Together
NVFA
Website
100 years of tradition unimpeded by progress
Website
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| Montana State Volunteer Firefighters Association
MSVFFA
Website
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