Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Commander thanks Wood River Valley

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By BETH LUND

    As our work on the Beaver Creek Fire winds down and we prepare to transfer command of the fire to Marty Adell’s Type II Incident Management Team, our Great Basin Type I Incident Management Team wants to thank the people of the Wood River Valley for your hospitality and support over the past two weeks.
    The people of Ketchum, Hailey, Sun Valley, Bellevue and every community threatened by this fast-moving fire have every reason to be proud of their patient and intelligent response to this crisis. Fire has a place in the natural world, but it can be disruptive and frightening when it threatens our homes, our lives and the natural treasures of our public lands.
    Hundreds of you, both residents and visitors, had to postpone recreational activities because of area closures in the Sawtooth National Forest. Many were forced to leave your homes as the fire crept close to Baker Creek and blew into Greenhorn Gulch, Deer Creek and Croy Creek Canyon and down the face of Carbonate Mountain.

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One resident painted thanks on the roof of a house
so our helicopter and fixed-wing pilots could see it

    Despite these hardships and stresses, you expressed your gratitude to wildland firefighters in myriad ways. The appreciation was visible, whether it was a sign on a roadside fence or a banner strung across a city street. One resident painted thanks on the roof of a house so our helicopter and fixed-wing pilots could see it. We felt the warmth at overflow community meetings and in our interactions at information boards up and down the Highway 75 corridor.
    Your nurturing was conveyed by the brownies, cookies and other treats delivered to camp and in the countless complimentary cups of coffee your baristas and convenience store clerks poured for our hard-working troops. It was obvious when a simple appeal at a public meeting generated thousands of bandanas from around the country for our firefighters. And the spirited shout-outs by Wood River High School cheerleaders was a fire-camp first for most of us!
    Perhaps the most meaningful gestures are the ones that bring lasting benefits — the kind that ensure our safety and yours. The willingness of residents to work with our structure support groups to create defensible spaces around their homes and property kept damage to a minimum during this especially challenging fire. And we’ll never know how many lives were saved when you cooperated with pre-evacuation warnings and evacuation orders on the fire’s most active perimeters.  
    We’re especially moved by the contributions to the Wildland Firefighters Foundation, including that of three local girls who sold homemade cookies to raise $1,200 for the Boise-based nonprofit that supports the families of fallen and injured firefighters. We hope you’ll consider making a similar donation. (Learn more about the organization at 208-336-2996 or by visiting www.wffoundation.org.)
    Be proud of your communities. We all look forward to the day when we can return with our families and enjoy the national forests and wilderness areas you understandably cherish, as well as the hospitality of your great communities.

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