Westfork/Painted Rock FireSafe Council
Collective responsibility for the area as well as the personal responsibility for an individual property home ignition zone.
Painted Rocks/West Fork FireSafe Council
Bob Mutch 406.542.4702
bobmutch@montana.com
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Meeting Minutes for 7/15/2009
Welcome by Bob Mutch.
Introduction of attendees.
Jake Kreilick:
• Discussion of Fire Safe Councils
• Doing work before hand: MT is catching up in the acceptance of personal responsibility for the areas in which we live.
• Fire Safe MT formed in 2007 with all the stake holders involved.
• Painted Rocks/West Fork Council: Collective responsibility for the area as well as the personal responsibility for an individual property home ignition zone.
• Are there collective fire safety zones for the community?
• Are there areas which need to be prepared to “put the fire down”?
• The government is not going to be there during a severe fire event.
• Councils can be of any size, related to any place.
• The presentation concluded with the showing of the 15 minute DVD recently produced by FireSafe Montana. It was well-received by attendees.
Byron Bonney, Bitterroot RC & D representative
Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) being revised now.
Plan is being revised for the BR Valley. www.bitterrootfireplan.org is the web site where the plan and its revisions are available.
Draft of newest revisions will be on the site in August. (There is much more information than just what the plan is.)
Grant Program for Fuel Mitigation: Grants are available for treating fuels in Ravalli County. New grant for the south part of the county is available this year for private land to reduce the chances of crown fires and ladder fires as well as the defensible space around the home. The funding is a 50/50 “match” arrangement with the resident footing half the bill for work done.
Dave Campbell: Forest Service can work with land owners who group together to address fuel reductions. The Goal is to create a more acceptable type of fire behavior, not an absence of fire, and more acceptable results after the fire occurs.
Bob Mutch was appointed Chair of the Council and Judy Estler was appointed Secretary/Treasurer.
The date of the next meeting will be determined by e-mail; probably late August or early September.
Alan Tresemer made a motion to officially form the Painted Rocks/West Fork FireSafe Council. The Motion passed unanimously.
Submitted by:
Judy Estler, Secretary/Treasurer