Smiley Creek OKs
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
By a 13-0 vote on Tuesday, Aug. 3, Smiley Creek residents cast affirmative votes for a new fire protection district.
The approximately 300-acre district will cover Smiley Creek?s 60 resi-dential properties, as well as the Smiley Creek Lodge. It will cover the po-tential development of another 107 properties there.
The election was in response to concerns from Smiley Creek residents, who told the Blaine County Commission last May they want to be able to fight a structure fire in timely manner. The mountain pine beetle infestation in the Sawtooth Valley has only served to reinforce the potential danger, said Augustinus Stroes, a Smiley Creek resident who helped organize the effort.
Once fire commissioners are appointed, the board will establish a budget for approval by the Blaine County Commission. A tax will be based on the budget.
Initial projects for the district will include installation of a pressurized water system and hydrants throughout the Smiley Creek area, Stroes said. Down the road, the district will look for equipment and a fire engine it can use to fight fires in the area.
It will probably quickly strike up a mutual response agreement with the fire department in Stanley, Stroes said.
?Anything we do is going to be a plus. Right now we have nothing,? he said.
As it stands, fire insurance is expensive, and even impossible, to come by in Smiley Creek, Stroes said. But now that will probably change.
