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Montana National Guard Mobilizes To Fight Meyers Fire

Smoke plume over the incident command post for the Meyers Fire, August 2, 2017.
Inciweb
Smoke plume over the incident command post for the Meyers Fire, August 2, 2017.

For the first time this year, the Montana National Guard has been activated to fight a fire in Montana.

A Chinook helicopter and its team of 15 were deployed  to combat the Meyers fire, 25 miles south of Philipsburg in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. 

Brian Scott is a public information officer working on the 13,000 acre blaze.

Smoke plume over the incident command post for the Meyers Fire, August 2, 2017.
Credit Inciweb
Smoke plume over the incident command post for the Meyers Fire, August 2, 2017.

“We’re going to be able to utilize one of the helicopters from the National Guard and that will be nice for us not only in terms of helping put water in spots that are hotter than we’d like, but also, it will give them some additional training.”

Montana Governor Steve Bullock declared a state of emergency last month in response to extreme fire activity in the state. This authorized him to mobilize the National Guard and tap state emergency funds.

Montana is struggling to keep up with its firefighting costs. It’s spending an estimated  $1 million - $1.5 million a day on fire-related expenses.

Copyright 2020 Montana Public Radio. To see more, visit Montana Public Radio.

Katie Riordan