Cascade County Disaster & Emergency Services director is stepping down

Brad Call, the director of Cascade County Disaster & Emergency Services (DES) is stepping down. Call has been in the position since March of 2020. The DES team has served the citizens of Cascade County in assisting their day-to-day needs as well as disasters, such as floods or fires. They also initiated a "Regional Hazard Mitigation" plan to include other county and state agencies within the region. “This position had been left a little bit open-ended and there was no real direction for Disaster and Emergency Services in Cascade County,” Call said. “With the assistance of the deputy director, my assistant here, we were able to get Disaster and Emergency Services back on its feet and running in a proper direction.” Cascade County Commissioners are in the process of interviewing candidates.
KRTV CBS 3 Great Falls

Glendive crews put out fire during 55 mph winds

PHOTOS: West Glendive Fire Department reports to Facebook that the eastern Montana fire season kicked off on Monday with a wildfire that took 19 engines, five tenders, four command vehicles, one dozer and a blade to put out. According to the Facebook post, West Glendive was paged at approximately 6:27 PM on April 22, 2024, to a fire southeast of the town. Their response was reportedly matched with support from Wibaux, Fallon, and Prairie Counties, and the Bureau of Land Management was on the scene. “This was truly an incredible turnout on what could have been a very bad day, thank you to everyone that came to assist," West Glendive Fire Department said. This fire was secured despite battling 55 mph winds.
KULR-TV NBC 8 Billings

Missoula County preparing assets, bracing for active fire season

With snowpack running well behind the seasonal average, Missoula County is racing to gather its resources ahead of what's anticipated to be an active wildfire season. On Tuesday, county officials reviewed seasonal snowfall averages, going back to 2016 and 2017, the latter being one of the busiest and most expensive fire seasons in recent memory. In 2016, the December snowpack rang in at 124%. But in December of 2023, the snowpack total was only 37%. Barring a barrage of spring snow, it could indicate what's expected this summer in terms of fire. “Those kinds of numbers do concern us, because so much of our taxpayers and districts are in the urban interface,” said Kirk Paulsen with the Missoula Rural Fire District. “If we can identify the number of people we need on scene as quickly as possible, we can hopefully put a good stop on anything that happens.”
Missoula Current

’Leader of men:’ Funeral service held in Miles City for longtime firefighter

VIDEO: More than 1,000 people gathered in Miles City Saturday morning for the funeral service of longtime firefighter John Raisler. Raisler was killed on duty Tuesday, during a practice for the pack test. He was 59-years-old. During his life, he mentored many up and coming firefighters from around the state, and many of those people were in attendance Saturday. Among them was Erick Hartse. “Anytime you lose a friend, anytime you lose somebody like that, it's tough," Hartse said following the service. "Trying to sum up John in a few words is almost impossible." Hartse's emotions felt by many, as agencies traveled to Miles City from all across the state. “The guy was a leader of men," Hartse said. "He was probably one of the greatest mentors or teachers you could meet in your life."
KBZK-TV CBS/CW+ 7 Bozeman

Two firefighters injured, one occupant transported to hospital after Butte fire

Two firefighters sustained minor injuries while helping a resident and pets out of a house fire in Butte. Butte-Silver Bow and Race Track and Floral Park firefighters all responded to the fire Sunday afternoon. Engines 2, 4 and Rescue 1 of Butte arrived to find smoke showing from a single story home. Crews searched inside, found one person and two pets and got them out safely, while knocking the fire down. An ambulance took the person inside to be evaluated. A Facebook post says all injuries are minor and authorities are investigating how the fire started.
NBC Montana

5 Of The Most Interesting Firehouses You’ll Find In Montana

PHOTOS: Montana is obviously a big place, so it takes a lot of resources to cover such a vast territory. There are over 280 fire departments across the state, with the vast majority (80%+) being completely volunteer. No matter if they're career or volunteer, one of the most loved assets of fire departments? The fire stations themselves. For as much history as we have in Montana, it was more challenging than we thought to find fire houses or stations that really had some old funk or personality. But the reason for that is easy - so many fire "stations" are extremely rural and strictly utilitarian...built to stand up to brutal weather. Most, in fact are similar-looking corrugated metal buildings used simply to store equipment and vehicles. It's pretty amazing to see a map of all the rural fire districts across the state of Montana.
KMMS-FM 94.7 Bozeman