Mission statement:
Mobilize the Lockwood Community to save lives and property from the threat of wildfire through prevention and education.
Lockwood FireSafe Council
Bev Ferguson 701.240.3719
beverlyinn@aol.com
LOCKWOOD FIRESAFE COUNCIL
MINUTES OF MEETING
FEBRUARY 10, 2010
Meeting was called to order by Bev Ferguson (Steering Committee Chair) at 7:03 PM.
The following were in attendance: Bev Ferguson, Robert Guenther, Dick Moore, Fred Richs, Brenna Truelove, Maggie Lough, Ryan Sylva, Mike Gustafson, Tauzha Grantham, Chuck Bushey, Artis Brandt, Heather O’Hanlon, Glenn Kudrna, and Kathy Dietz.
Minutes from 1-31-10 meeting were read and approved.
NEW BUSINESS:
Discussed FireSafe MT event at Fairmont 2-25 through 2-27. Maggie Lough will be attending to accept $5000 grant from BLM. FireSafe MT will pay her registration and Lockwood FireSafe Council will pay her expenses from the $250 grant we received from FireSafe MT. This will be a good chance for Maggie to meet with other firesafe councils to learn how Lockwood FireSafe Council can become an even more effective force in the wildfire areas around Lockwood.
Tauzha Grantham and two of her staff members at Montana Conservation Corps gave a presentation about how their organization is equipped to help with our clean-up day. Their staff is trained on chainsaw use and can help those residents unable to drag broken and dead trees, cut them up, and buck them for removal to the chipping site. We will need someone to haul them to the chipping site.
Fred, who is a forester, gave a presentation on the mountain pine beetle which has done considerable damage in the national forests in the western part of Montana and is now showing signs of moving eastward to the Billings area. He talked about prevention methods and how to protect trees you do not want to lose.
May 15 was confirmed as the date for the Lockwood FireSafe Council community event.
Dick Moore from DNRC stated counties can request a fire truck from DNRC. Robert Guenther will follow up.
The Grant Committee will consist of Glenn Kudrna and Maggie Lough. Maggie will attempt to solicit one other from the Horseshoe Hills area. Mike Gustafson privately offered to help in obtaining grants.
Chuck Bushey mentioned Jim Kraft from Yellowstone County will be conducting a meeting on 2-19 to discuss work that can be done along escape routes to minimize trouble for residents leaving during a fire and providing a safer entrance for fire trucks. At that meeting will be members of the Road and Bridge Department, Travis Hanson from Fireline, and Diane Lehm from Big Sky EDA.
Next meeting is scheduled for 4-21 at which we will be trained on Map-Your-Neighborhood.
Meeting adjourned at 8:05 PM.
Glenn Kudrna
Volunteer
LOCKWOOD FIRESAFE COUNCIL
MINUTES OF MEETING
MARCH 7, 2010
Meeting was called to order by Bev Ferguson (Steering Committee Chair) at 1:30 PM.
The following were in attendance: Bev Ferguson, Artis Brandt, Glenn Kudrna, and Kathy Dietz.
Glenn talked about tour made of Emerald Hills with Robert Guenther (Fire Dept Captain), Chuck Bushey (Fire prevention consultant), Bo (representative from County Road and Bridge Dept), and Glenn Kudrna to determine which escape route rights-of-way should be cleared of trees to make the routes safer for evacuation and fire trucks entering to fight fires. The money for this project will come from roughly $23,000 the County has left of BLM grant used for individual resident clearing around their houses. The escape routes will be cleared in this order—Emerald Hills Drive, Cave Road, Box Canyon Drive, and Trailmaster. If not all can be done this year, those undone will be done when money is again available. The County will write a letter to residents in involved areas notifying them of their intent to clear trees in the 60 foot right-or-way. If there is any opposition, individual trees can be discussed and other mitigation methods can be applied assuming there are no safety issues.
Looked at a list of residents provided by the County to determine how to communicate the clean-up day, map-your-neighborhood, the Community Event, and any other related information to residents of Emerald Hills, Pine Hills, and other wooded areas. Bev will call the residents of Pine Hills, and others were assigned to contact the other areas.
Firmed up details about the clean-up day on May 22. Chipping material will be accepted 1 to 4 on May 20 and 21, and 9 to 4 on May 22. A dumpster will be parked next to the chipper on May 22 for non-chipable trash. A representative of Lockwood FireSafe Council will need to be present to accept materials and complete a form provided by the County to verify acres cleared and hours it took for use as the 25% matching required for grant money to pay for the chipper.
Also talked about ways to communicate the individual grants still available from the County.
Another Lockwood FireSafe Council planning meeting is scheduled at Bev’s house at 1:30 Sunday, March 14.
Meeting adjourned at 3:05 PM.