Montana
Gianforte meets with Montana firefighters returning home from CA wildfires
MISSOULA, Mont. — Gov. Greg Gianforte met with local firefighters coming back home after battling wildfires in southern California on Monday.
There were 42 firefighters from across Montana that were deployed to the Los Angeles area last month to help crews work to contain the fires.
One firefighter who spoke with the governor described the scene as “miles of devastation, city block after city block.”
California officials say the fires burned more than 57,000 acres.
Gianforte’s office sent out the following:
Governor Greg Gianforte last week visited the Whitefish Fire Department to thank firefighters who recently returned from their deployment to southern California to support the state’s fire response.
“When the devastating fires hit southern California last month, Montana firefighters answered the call for support,” Gov. Gianforte said. “As Montanans, we help our neighbors. I was honored to visit with a few of the Whitefish and Bigfork firefighters who deployed last month to support fellow Americans in need.”
The Whitefish and Bigfork firefighters who met with the governor were four of the 42 firefighters from across Montana who went to California. The team of firefighters was composed of those from fire departments in Big Sky, Columbus, Corvallis, Missoula, Red Lodge, Bigfork, Butte, Central Valley, Plains-Paradise, and Whitefish. A Montana Department of Natural Resources mechanic also supported Montana’s response.
Montana firefighters were assigned to support structure protection and patrol permitters to prevent spot fires. The fighters shared that, during their efforts, winds were up to 60 miles per hour.
“There was a lot of devastation there. It’s hard to understand until you see it,” a Bigfork fighter said.
“We saw miles of devastation, city block after city block,” a Whitefish firefighter added.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, in early January, a fire erupted in a Los Angeles neighborhood which spread to multiple fires across southern California, burning over 57,000 acres.
Montana Disaster and Emergency Services received a request from the State of California through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a resource sharing agreement between states. Firefighters were deployed in mid-January for a period of 14 days.
“Thank you for stopping in and expressing your gratitude, it means a lot to us,” a Whitefish firefighter concluded at the end of the governor’s visit.
MISSOULA, Mont. — In this week’s Amazing America, NBC Montana is highlighting smokejumpers and their efforts to keep our communities safe during wildfire season.
NBC Montana caught up with a current and a former smokejumper to learn more about the work they do and how the job has changed throughout the years.
Jim Kitchen was a smokejumper for 20 seasons, fought over 100 fires and raised his three daughters on a smokejumper base, where he served as base commander.
Kitchen says he’ll never forget his first jump, when he started training in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1987.
“I went, ‘That was amazing,’ and he goes, ‘Yeah,’ and I go, ‘Have you ever done anything as amazing in your life? I mean, we just made our first jump,” said Kitchen.
Kitchen told NBC Montana when he laughed his crew had to do 50 pushups.
Kitchen saw several changes during his career, including women entering a historically male-dominated field. He told NBC Montana Deanne Shulman, the first woman smokejumper, paved the way for the industry.
He recalled a time when he was on a trip to Washington, D.C. , in the early ’90s to coordinate emergency response, when a U.S. Department of State official asked him a question.
“He goes, ‘I didn’t realize men were smokejumpers.’ And I had to go, ‘Peter, I’ll have you know, there’s quite a few of us, and actually, it’s the women that are rare,’” said Kitchen “The early ladies in smokejumping, they always met and exceeded the bar, and they were instrumental in doing these winter details.”
Another change he oversaw as base commander, was moving from round parachutes used in World War II, to the ones used today.
“Ram-Air parachutes that inflate make the shape of the wing and they actually have about a 20 mph forward speed. And so you can you can fly those in much windier conditions, higher elevations,” said Kitchen.
Kitchen says the job requires you to roll with the punches and make quick decisions on the fly.
He said while training new jumpers, he taught them early to prepare and never hesitate.
“The only thing that we ask of you is that you take all the information that you can and then make a decision,” said Kitchen.
Nick Holloway, a current Missoula smokejumper, who’s been working for 14 seasons, says it’s important to rely on your training, stay positive and persevere.
“Having done this for a few years, it’s just trying to know that essentially every season is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. Just stay healthy, stay focused and keep having a good time,” said Holloway.
NBC Montana asked both men what they were most proud of during their time jumping.
Kitchen recalled fighting a fire near the Grand Canyon, when he and his crew decided to manage a fire instead of suppressing it when they ponderosa pine trees.
The crew let the fire burn to a plateau, “The Ponderosa pine has about a 20 to 30-year fire return interval in that area,” said Kitchen. “That’s one of the high points as far as land stewardship of my career is seeing fire on a landscape escape and not necessarily suppressing it but allowing it to burn, because then you’re saying it’s good for decades after that.”
Holloway told NBC Montana, while he has “too many to count,” he’s most proud that recently he jumped a 3- to 5-acre fire at Yellowstone National Park.
The fire grew to 8 acres, “So seven days later we got around everything, put it all out and essentially with a good product upon departure. So it’s just a classic example of a smokejumper fire.”
Holloway says staying fit for annual trainings, regardless of experience, is critical to staying fire-ready.
“Pushups, pullups, sit-ups, a certain amount and then a mile and a half in a certain time as well,” said Holloway.
Kitchen told NBC Montana he still does his pullups, pushups and sit-ups.
“Many of my colleagues are still in really fit shape even in their 60s, 70s and 80s,” he said.
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