Tom Peterson represented BCPOA in a wildfire resilience symposium organized by Headwaters Economics. The 35-page workshop booklet distributed to participants contained a lot of good information on fire-resistant landscaping and construction, so I’ve posted it here:
The 2021 BCPOA Newsletter is out. Read it here:
Virtual Annual Meeting June 8th, 7pm
BCPOA’s annual General Meeting of the membership sees the election of directors to represent you, and covers a variety of news from the year.
Location: Zoom—register at:
Agenda
The discussion will include proposed bylaws amendments to adjust dues and appoint a board member representing Crosscut Mountain Sports. Details will be posted at BCPOA.net.
Thanks to everyone who filled out the post-fire survey. It offers some useful guidance for us.
SummaryThe raw results follow, but here are some recurring themes:
Housing, labor, legal advice, revegetation advice. So far there’s been a big outpouring of community support, but please let us know if needs are unmet. We’re working on forestry and related issues, as are others.
Often, the answer is “more of the above,” including in particular:
A big question on many minds is evidently, what happened to air support on Saturday morning? We don’t have an answer at present.
While many were happy with evacuation notification, this was also a sore point. We cross-checked comments about evacuation notice against locations:
This is a small sample, but it does appear that a majority of respondents in the Bridger Canyon Road corridor north of Jackson Creek had a bad experience.
I think this is a fundamentally hard problem, due to the variety of media involved, the rapid evolution of the fire, etc. When the dust settles, we will share these thoughts with the agencies in order to improve.
Several people mentioned cell towers. Cell towers have been explicitly legal in the zoning regulation since BCPOA spearheaded an amendment in 2014, with input from Verizon and Atlas Towers. To date, the tower at Bridger Bowl is only occupied by Verizon. So the problem appears to be lack of provider interest. It’s not clear what we can do to sweeten the deal, but this bears some thought.
The full results as of 9/12 are in Survey results as of 2020 09 12 4pm.pdf, slightly redacted to eliminate private or location-specific information.
The survey is still open at https://forms.gle/Tepu7MiqtVQrAiDw9
From the Sheriff’s page:
Southwest Montana COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disasters) is
now collecting information for people affected by the Bridger Foothills
Fire at
https://www.facebook.com/SWMTCOADPlease follow them to stay on top of what resources are available to
help people.
From Ted Mather:
All,
I have attached soft copies of two documents distributed at yesterday’s “Neighbors In Need: Relief, Recovery and Support” event held yesterday at the fairgrounds.
Resources Available for Landowners Resources Available for Landowners.pdf
The Montana DNRC’s Approved Contractor List relative to the DNRC forest health and wildfire safety program MasterContractorList2019.pdf
Thank you,—
Bridger Canyon Fire Dept.
Ted Mather
Tomorrow Bridger Canyon Road opens up for limited access, according to
the Sheriff on Facebook.
Several people have observed that construction crews are ignoring the
condition previously announced elsewhere, “This is not a time to visit
your neighbors or have friends, extended family, or construction crews
come to your residences.” We can do better.
———————————–
Effective tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 10 at 10 AM, the entirety Bridger
Canyon Road will be open FOR RESIDENTS ONLY. Bridger Canyon Road remains
closed to the public from Boylan Road to Brackett Creek. This includes
bikers and runners.
Residents should stay off the roads from 7 AM to 10 AM, and from 6 PM to
8 PM to allow for fire crews to travel the roads. When on Bridger Canyon
Road, DRIVE SLOWLY for everybody’s safety.
Residents will need to bring proof of residence to be allowed in. We ask
you to go directly to your homes. This is not a time to visit your
neighbors or have friends, extended family, or construction crews come
to your residences. It is still an active fire zone and fire teams are
still working. The objective is to keep the road clear for firefighting
efforts. Any extra traffic only hinders the progress. Residents need to
stay out of their way.
In the active fire zone, residents can expect to see smoke and flames.
DO NOT call 911. They can notify fire personnel in the area if they are
around, but they are aware of the situation.
In areas where homes have been destroyed and may have ignited propane
tanks venting, DO NOT APPROACH AND DO NOT PUT THEM OUT. Residents are
also advised not to stay in that area, and to collect what they need and
leave.
Avoid spending time in any area that has been burned, even on your own
property. Many hazards exist including burnt trees that are highly
unstable and dangerous.
We really value our relationship with our citizens. We greatly
appreciate your support and cooperation. We know how important it is for
you to get home to your residences. Help us help you get into and stay
in your residences by following these rule
Q So can brackett creek residents use Bridger canyon? Or or it still
Clyde park Livingston route?
A You can use Bridger Canyon except 7-10 am and 6-8 pm. Drive carefully
and watch for emergency vehicles.
Q Can you travel during restricted times if you have to go to work?
A Please try to arrange your trips to avoid those times, for the safety
of yourself firefighters.
Q If your home/property is in an unburned area can you stay or do you
still have to return else where at night??
A You can stay.
From chief Ted Mather:
Update_PM_20200909_BridgerFoothills Final.pdf
Thanks to Richard Lyon for the link to yesterday's fire briefing: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=647525935903316&extid=jqFZ60UTyl5czvSX I've been told that the fire material on Facebook should be visible to the public, without requiring registration as a Fb user. Via inciweb, https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/7144/55403/ Bridger Foothills PM Update 9/9 Bridger Foothills Fire Wildfire News – 38 min. ago Bridger Foothills Fire Evening Update *September 9, 2020 - 9:08 p.m.* *Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team - Dan Dallas, Incident Commander* Information Center: 406-219-7052 (8:00 am to 8:00 pm) Media Inquiries: 406-219-7136 InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7144/ Email: 2020.bridgerfoothills at firenet.gov <mailto:2020.bridgerfoothills at firenet.gov> Bridger Foothills Fire Story Map: https://arcg.is/1eqjm0 *Special Notes: *Montana Governor Steve Bullock, Lieutenant Governor Mike Cooney, and Major General Matthew T. Quinn, the Montana Adjutant General visited the fire today. Gallatin County, Montana DNRC, Custer Gallatin National Forest, and the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team continue their strong partnership in suppressing this wildfire and assisting residents affected by the fire. *REMINDER:* Please do not fly drones near the Bridger Foothills Fire. If you fly your drone it can shut down all air operations on the fire. We ask that you respect this rule so we can ensure all firefighting activities are carried out safely and effectively. * Current Situation: *Cool nighttime temperatures and recent precipitation have limited fire spread. Acreage increased to 8,224 acres today due to more accurate mapping. Containment increased to 52%. Today’s fire suppression activity: on the southwest side of the fire in Division A, crews were inserted by air and will spike out along the fire perimeter; they began securing the fire’s edge to the north. In Division D (west side of the fire) crews flew to Baldy Mountain and began building direct handline towards the south. Division Y and the Structure Group worked from the Bridger Canyon Fire station to the Beasley Creek Road checking and securing structures and conducting hazard mitigation. In Division H (east and north side of the fire), crews were hot-spotting, cold-trailing, and building handline. On the north side firefighters continued to scout opportunities for direct line construction. Crews will continue to build hand and dozer lines over the next 2-3 days. A timber taskforce assessed potential for fuel break construction in heavily timbered areas directly north of the fire. * Weather & Fuel Conditions:* Fire behavior was limited today. Temperatures rose into the 60s this afternoon with relative humidity around 30%. Forecasted: Temperatures will drop into the 30s tonight with fair humidity recoveries around 50-55%. Continued warming and drying on Thursday ahead of a weak cold front that will cross the fire area Monday with breezy north/northwest winds. The weekend looks to be warm and dry with afternoon humidity in the upper teens. * Evacuations and Closures:* Additional changes in evacuations and road closures are expected to occur at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.The area south of DP30 (the intersection of Jackson Creek and Bridger Canyon roads) is going to be reopened and repopulated starting at 10am today. For further details on these openings see the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/gallatincountysheriffsoffice/ or https://www.gallatinmedia.org/ The area closure for the Custer Gallatin National Forest is listed on the Forest Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CusterGallatinNationalForest/_._ *Bridger Foothills Fire Statistics:* Size: 8,224 acres Containment: 52% Total Personnel: approximately 337 Location: NE of Bozeman, approx. 2.5 miles up from M parking lot, near the Bridger Foothills trail Reported: September 4, 2020 Cause: Under investigation *Resources Include: *Air resources include 2 incident helicopters and 2 shared T1 helicopters if needed. Other personnel and equipment include 3 Interagency Hotshot (Type 1) hand crews, 8 Type 2 hand crews, 20 engines, 1 water tender, and 3 dozers.
Here’s the update report and map for Wednesday:
PIO_archCland_20200908_2200_BridgerFoothills_MTCGF214_Day0909.pdf
The objection period closes on September 8th, 2020 on the proposed Custer Gallatin Forest Plan. During the objection period, people who have previously filed comments have another chance to respond.
The full plan is here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/custergallatin/landmanagement/planning/?cid=fseprd733838
The Bridger/Bangtail section of the document starts on page 158 here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd762990.pdf
There is at least one substantial change from the 2019 draft. The earlier plan placed substantial portions of the Bridgers in a “high” scenic integrity category. The 2020 draft places most of the range in the “moderate” category.
I have an inquiry pending about this change, and how to comment.
If you notice other substantial differences, please note them in the comments!
All three mountain ranges support diverse activities on the landscape, including motorized and nonmotorized use, summer and winter recreation opportunities, grazing, timber, and hunting. Parts of the Crazy Mountains and Bridger Mountains both have large unroaded and undeveloped settings. The roaded northern Crazy Mountains is actively managed. The higher elevations of the Crazy Mountains provide for the exercise of reserved treaty rights, and the practice of spiritual, ceremonial and traditional cultural activities by the Crow Tribes. The Bridger and Bangtail Mountains are in close proximity to one of the largest towns in Montana and provide important value to the community and its economy. The Bridger Mountains also play an important role for wildlife connectivity, especially for wide-ranging dispersing species.
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