SEELEY LAKE – “No” was the response most Seeley Lake residents received from the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office in the first days of the Evacuation Order issued the evening of Aug. 28. With the task of establishing control and managing people’s safety there was little more they could say.
Many suffered in silence or shared their frustrations on social media. As the evacuation drug on, conversations shifted and deputies started to discuss reasonable accommodations with those who presented issues.
Looking back on the historic fire season that included three to five emerging fire incidents in Missoula and Powell Counties at one time as well as investigating seven separate homicides, the Sheriff’s Office has learned many lessons about what they did well and what they can do better the next time.
“We had a lot going on,” said McDermott. “We asked a lot of our deputies and reserves and everyone seemed to pitch in and help out but everyone was tired and put in a lot of long, hard hours.”
While no structures were lost in the more than 160,000 acre Rice Ridge Fire, 1,090 residences were threatened and many were evacuated for up to 13 days from Aug. 28-Sept. 10.
Missoula County Undersheriff Rich Maricelli said the “real God-send” was that the Rice Ridge Fire was on a lull when the Lolo Peak Fire picked up. As the Lolo Peak Fire wound down, they were able to shift resources to the Rice Ridge Fire as it cranked up.
Maricelli also said it was a great opportunity for the deputies to learn the roads, backways and area around Seeley Lake since the majority of the force doesn’t typically spend a lot of time in Seeley Lake.
Missoula County Sheriff’s Administrative Captain Robert Taylor said he felt that Smart911, adopted by Missoula County in 2012, is a really valuable tool. Taylor started as an agency representative on fires in 2003. He now is a part of Greg Poncin’s Type 1 Northern Rockies Incident Management Team and was with Poncin’s Team on the Lolo Peak and Rice Ridge Fires.
“The ability to reach people and notify people, mostly due to technology and the willingness to leverage that technology by the county government and by us is a real success,” said Taylor. “The irony is that the further you get into the urban interface, the less technologically-welcoming folks are and the less service we have. Then we are going back to face-to-face when it is possible.”
While Rio worked on a Star Team in the Northwest leading tactical operations during evacuations in 2003, it was his first time working in an administrative role as the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Representative.
Rio knew the Double Arrow Ranch east of Highway 83 had a good chance of being evacuated because of the fuels and topography. He said the rest was a best guess based on fire behavior and weather predictions.
Rio felt the only reason fire did not make it to town was because of the aircraft.
“The fact that there were phone calls made to Senator Tester and to the governor really made the difference to bring those planes in,” said Rio. “You saw the column the night of the evacuations [Aug. 28]. Had those planes not have been there, there is no doubt in my mind that the fire would have burned through town.”
The Sheriff’s Office made it very clear to the teams that they did not want to do a yo-yo evacuation and let people back in before it was safe.
“They [erred] on the side of caution,” said Rio. “But “The Swamp” area kept giving them fits. For quite a while they kept saying we need another 24 hours.”
“Generally speaking people don’t think about where they live, what exposure they have and what responsibility they have for their own safety,” said Taylor. “If you don’t mitigate around your home you may be the victim of a burn over. A town shouldn’t burn unless the mitigations have not been done. People want to go, they want to be more away from people, from government and restrictions so they go further and further into the woods with their houses. It is very difficult for our resources to safely reach some of those people.”
Maricelli said a common theme on the Lolo Peak and the Rice Ridge Fires was the lack of understanding that once someone left their property during the evacuation orders they would not be allowed to return.
“It’s hard to overstate the inconvenience, almost up to danger, that it presents when citizens don’t abide by evacuation orders. They are travelling the same roads firefighters are travelling that they may need to escape creating traffic issues,” said Taylor. “There is nobody in this organization from the team to the Sheriff’s Office, who enjoys telling someone, ‘You need to leave your house,’ We don’t want to be there so when we come do that, that means you’ve got to go. That means it is good for you, it is good for your neighbors and it’s good for the people that are trying to save your house.”
McDermott said the tangible need for information following the evacuation order led to the information trailer stationed at Cory’s Valley Market. This turned into a place where concerns were vetted and reasonable accommodations were met.
They also started running escorts to allow residents to return to their home on a case-by-case basis. The escorts were run in the morning and early afternoon because the fire was less active.
The Missoula County Sheriff’s Office is putting together a list of expectations that they have of the teams. This will include how to communicate, the timeliness of communications and the evacuation vernacular Missoula County uses.
They will also have expectations for their deputies that include a base knowledge of what they are doing and why, the equipment required to do the job and training on the setting they are going to work in that requires more patience, more understanding and more public safety since they are not dealing with criminals.
“Erring on the side of caution, if someone is safe and their house didn’t burn down and all you were was inconvenienced, I will tell you I’m sorry, my fault. I listened to [the Incident Management Team], these guys are the experts,” said Rio. “If there is something that didn’t go well or didn’t go right, I’m sorry and we will try to do better next time. But at the end of the day, no one is dead, no residences were burned.”
The Sheriff’s Office addressed several questions that were posted on social media and shared with the Pathfinder.
Why were people allowed to drive around within the closure area?
Taylor said that was probably a misunderstanding with the National Guard. The guard also does not have the ability to enforce the noncompliance (that required a deputy.) Rio said the Sheriff’s Office was so shorthanded that they brought in Missoula City police officers. They were instructed if anyone was caught driving in the interior, they were escorted out of the evacuated area and not allowed to return. Several people were caught and removed.
What was the penalty for running a roadblock or being caught driving around the evacuated area?
It is a misdemeanor and obstructing a governmental function. If caught in the evacuated area, they were written a ticket for failure to obey a traffic control device since all the roadblocks had them. If caught a second time, they would be arrested for obstruction of justice. The man who was arrested for swerving at the National Guard Soldier took it to the next level.
Why were the Seeley Lake Fire District and Seeley-Swan Search and Rescue Volunteers allowed to come and go from the evacuated areas?
At first they weren’t. There was a lack of communication and Taylor said they didn’t realize the need. Once they realized the need, concessions were made. Volunteers were given passes to return to their homes because they had pagers, radios, they could get out of the area within minutes, they have some training of the danger of wildland fire and they were essential to sustain the emergency medical and structure fire protection that the district provides.
Why were employees from local businesses given passes to return to their homes?
Rio said that while businesses wanted that for their employees they were not given passes. They were only escorted to their homes like any other resident.
Was there a list of the people who stayed?
The Sheriff’s Office compiled a list of those that had special needs in the evacuation warning areas. However, they did not keep a list of those who did not evacuate.
Why was the north side of Whitetail Drive evacuated and the south side not?
“We had to draw a line somewhere,” said Taylor. “Roads are firelines.”
Why were the businesses east of Highway 83 evacuated?
Following more communication with the public and understanding the need, a more consistent message was conveyed Thursday, Aug. 31 following the Monday evacuations. The Sheriff’s Office stated if a business was addressed or accessed off Highway 83, it was allowed to stay open.
Rio said he remembers questioning why the Post Office was closed and questioned why they did not ask if they should close. “We would have told them, no you’re fine, stay open,” said Rio.
Why were zones communicated following the Evacuation Order but not before?
Rio said the intent was never for the zones to be communicated to the public, they were for internal use only. The road-by-road list of evacuated areas was put out by the Sheriff’s Office to the public including the zone numbers. However in the future, zones will be identified by a common name that the public can relate to rather than numbers.
Why weren’t local Deputies Heath Hanson and Mike Sunderland and Sergeant Bob Parcell in charge?
They were directing the operations on ground because that is where they were most effective. Rio was in an administrative role as an agency representative with the team. “We wanted Bob, Heath and Mike out in the field talking to people,” said McDermott.
Where there any reports of thefts or vandalism during the evacuations?
No, bears were the biggest problem. Rio did not realize that evacuating town on garbage night left trash outside that wasn’t picked up since the garbage truck didn’t run. “I just never thought of it,” he said.
“I’m so appreciative of how welcoming and how good the people were 99 percent of the time,” said Rio. “I cannot express enough gratitude that in such a hard situation and really tough circumstances, Seeley Lake was so great.”
“We deeply appreciate Seeley Lake,” said McDermott. “I’m very proud of everyone who worked up there who put in long hard hours away from their families and really spent their summer battling these forest fires.”
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