Tri-County Fire Safe Working Group seeks county partners and grant support for wildfire mitigation

Ed Shindoll, chief of the Broadwater Rural Fire District and vice president of the Tri-County Fire Safe Working Group, and Lois Olsen described the group's wildfire-education and mitigation work serving Broadwater, Lewis and Clark and Jefferson counties. Olsen said the group provides free home ignition-zone assessments and, when grants are available, offers a typical cost share of about 75% grant funding and 25% homeowner contribution for mitigation projects.

Olsen highlighted a Firewise demonstration garden at the Montana City Volunteer Fire Department with an indexed plant database and said the group can act as a contractor to perform mitigation work if a county secures grant funding. She identified a local-government assistance grant that could fund treatment of evacuation routes and said that grant is expected to be advertised around March. The group offered to invoice the county and have the county pass payments back when acting as the grant pass-through, and indicated they might request indirect costs to offset county staff time.

Commissioners asked about local activity and the upcoming fire season; Shindoll said local snowpack was minimal and that fire risk will rely on both weather and individual property maintenance. The commissioners thanked the group and indicated they would look into potential grant applications and local outreach to recruit mitigation participants.

Olsen concluded by inviting the county to request presentations or outreach; commissioners suggested using local newspaper space and community flyers to reach older residents for homemaker and mitigation program recruitment.