| The September 1st Fauth Fire, Northeast Of Lavina, Montana |
Early in the afternoon, we were called to assist at an open range fire north of Lavina. Apparently, the fire was started by someone doing some welding on a cattle guard. Lavina and Ryegate departments responded and one truck, via mutual aid, came from the Dean Creek deptment. The wind which changed direction several times, whipped this fire up, over, and around numerous hills and crews exercised extreme caution at times, for fear of being overun by fire. There were eight foot flames. The above four photos provide a sense of the overall area of the fire. There were many slopes that were too steep to navigate. |
| It was very smokey and hard to work without a mask and impossible to work without goggles. |
| Kelly Hoyt, Kat Sullivan and Garret Jones taking a break after the worst was over. |
The State Lands attack truck won't draft water, not even from the on-board tank. After a great deal of investigation and a half hour of taking things apart, it was discovered that a small valve was clogged. John Lewis, is in the rear munching on a cracker. Glenn Mitchell is in the foreground. He was operating the Golden Valley County road grader within a few miles of where the fire started. Glenn was able to blade a firebreak around the fire, halting the fire's advance. |
Bob Pallas, who doubles as a master plumber, is seen here unclogging the valve and he soon had the state lands track back in service. |
The Golden Valley County road grader became stuck while constructing a firebreak around the fire. At one point, flames were within 20 feet of the grader and several attack trucks closed in to suppress the flames. Above, a chain has been hooked from the grader to the ttractor and the towing has begun. |
Everyone was fortunate that the grader was in the area at the time of the fire. A good firebreak was established around much of the fire by the time the grader became stuck. If not for the grader, given the wind, the fire would have traveled hundreds of yards further. |
Attack 1320, a Type 5 Wildand Engine with 610 gallons of water, was requested to assist the Golden Valley County volunteer fire departments. At this fire, it was primarily utilized to resupply water to several attack trucks. This procedure was a big help in keeping them at the firelines where they could be most effective. |
There's a first time for everything. This was the photograpers's chance to try an MRE, otherwise known as Meals Ready to Eat. Yum - - - particularly the hungrier you are! Everyone was a great help in suggesting their favorte meal. These are experienced MRE folks. We chose the Beef Brisket, which even had realistic grill marks on one side. Do they put those grill marks on with a magic marker? Tabby found a comfy seat and seemed delighted with her Chicken Salsa, with rice. |