Missoula County plans to seek an $80,000 state grant to increase the capacity of the local fire warden during critical fire conditions, it said Tuesday.
The Cooperative Fire Protection Capacity grant, provided by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, would help ensure the county has personnel on call during Red Flag events and when the fire danger is elevated. “When we look at the intent of the grant, it's to help bolster local government's capacity to catch fires early and keep them small,” said Adrian Beck, the county director of Disaster and Emergency Services. “It bolsters the fire warden by applying the funding toward personnel and other rural fire districts to provide on-call leadership during critical fire conditions.”