Personnel thanked for helping with Moyie fire

On behalf of the firefighters and other personnel who worked on the Moyie fire, we want to thank several members of this community for the support they showed during this incident.

First of all, we want to express our gratitude to the residents near the fire area. Following the first report of the fire, through the initial attack on Thursday afternoon and into the night, everyone was cooperative and considerate. Fire suppression is noisy, dirty, smoky work and can be stressful for those closest to it, but the spirit of neighbor helping neighbor prevailed through the weekend as we wrapped things up.

The Moyie Store, Moyie Post Office, Twin Rivers Resort, Boundary County Airport, Three Mile Store and KBFI Radio provided our daily information updates to local residents and visitors.

Local law enforcement agencies helped us meet our number one priority—firefighter and public safety. Idaho State Police facilitated traffic flow on U.S. Highway 2 to maintain the safety of fire-related traffic and other motorists. The Boundary County Sheriff's Office and Search and Rescue contacted residents who could potentially be affected by the fire and provided information to us concerning values that could be at risk.

The sheriff's office added an extra measure of safety and a helping hand by placing marine deputies on the reach of the Kootenai River where this fire burned. Not only did they help assure an area where the helicopters could safely dip water, they alerted boaters and fisherman to the hazards of rolling rocks and debris on the steep slopes that had burned above the river.

School District 101 provided shower facilities for hand crews that came from Sandpoint, Priest Lake, Okanogan National Forest in Washington, Flathead National Forest and Ft. Belknap in Montana.

Our local Safeway store and Boundary Trading Co. store practically emptied their shelves of Gatorade, ice and bottled water so we could be certain that the men and women fighting the fire had plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.

The Chic n' Chop Restaurant provided hot breakfasts and dinners and sack lunches. Subway Restaurant also provided sack lunches.

Moyie Springs, Bonners Ferry and Boundary County are great places and we hope we lived up to the communities' expectations during the Moyie Fire.

Don Gunter

Incident Commander

North Idaho Incident Management Team

Scott Bacon

Lands Area Manager

Idaho Department of Lands