Locals Band Together To Fight Fires

A spate of fires kicked off over the first few days of July across the local area. On July 1, the Box Elder fire, located near the Camp Creek Road in NW Powder River County burned 1700 acres, with federal, state, and local resources responding to the incident. Several fires started in the Biddle and Belle Creek area on July 2nd and 3rd, with the largest – the Rice Fire, burning 840 acres. The Miller Fire, 20 miles south of Broadus, east of the river, burned 5.3 acres on July 3rd in rough country, and a fire on Rumph's and another on Jim Collins' burned around 6 acres and 2 acres, respectively. A fire on July 5th burned around 6 acres on Ostendorf's SE of Broadus. Lightning caused the majority of the starts, other than the Box Elder fire, which was caused by a logging operation, per Broadus VFD Chief Raymond Ragsdale.

Ragsdale said that he was impressed with the performance of the volunteers as well as the local turnout to help quench the flames, especially at the Box Elder fire, noting that locals showed up immediately with heavy equipment to help ring the fire.

Several rain storms across portions of the area helped to keep potential starts from fireworks in check, though a fire north of Colstrip started by fireworks resulted in a negligent arson charge, per the Rosebud County Sheriff's Department.

Drought conditions persist across the area, and with low fuel moistures and the potential for fire remaining high, Ragsdale emphasized caution with any haying equipment or activities that could possibly start a fire. "The Box Elder fire really took off, and the wind kept it going. The potential for large fire growth is certainly there."

Powder River County as a whole is not currently under fire restrictions as of this writing, though restrictions are in place on the Custer National Forest, including prohibitions on smoking outside the vehicle and starting campfires. The state recently launched a new website to check fire restrictions anywhere in Montana; http://www.mtfireinfo.org.

The Broadus VFD also has a new addition to their fire fighting arsenal – a Type B-C rig, which features a 450 lb tank of dry chemical fire extinguishing agent, as well as another 100 gallon tank of foam. The foam has a nitrogen propulsion system which will allow firefighters to help extinguish flames from a distance. The unit will be used for situations such as fuel tank fires and other situations where spraying straight water may not be as effective. The VFD is currently on the lookout for a good running 1 ton or larger pickup to hold the system.