Wildfires are everyone’s concern—they threaten not just the forests in which they burn, but the lives, property and livelihoods of nearby communities. Many communities that live in the shadow of wildfire risk understand this danger and have banded together to address it. One such organization is FireSafe Flathead, which consists of local, county and state representatives, along with officials from the Flathead National Forest. The group provides a platform for pooling resources and directing them most effectively to reduce community wildfire risk.

Strategic partnerships developed through FireSafe Flathead and exceptional community engagement have brought several rural Montana communities together to work toward this shared vision of wildfire risk reduction.  In an area with some of the highest wildfire hazard potential in the nation, a $10 million Community Wildfire Defense Grant issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service has made a tremendous difference by focusing on utility line corridors and individual homeowners.

Two prominent local organizations—Flathead Electric Cooperative, an electrical utility cooperative, and Montana West Economic Development, a non-profit focused on job growth in western Montana—are spearheading the initiative funded by this grant. Building on their longstanding partnership, they are launching fuels reduction efforts along utility lines and providing grant assistance to private landowners for wildfire mitigation work around their homes.

Upon receiving the Forest Service grant, Flathead Electric Cooperative hit the ground running, focusing on the utility line work. At the same time, their partner, Montana West Economic Development, was able to leverage their ties to local communities to assist with the grant implementation for private landowners.

Working together, the two organizations attended every community education event they could, reaching as many residents as possible. Flathead Electric Cooperative sent notifications to landowners letting them know they were eligible for a grant to assist with the cost of wildfire risk reduction work, and both organizations collaborated to hold three educational seminars.

Community members responded with high levels of interest and energy to get the work started. As of today, just one year into their project, $2.1 million in landowner agreements treating 828 acres are in place, with work underway and anticipated to continue for the next few years.

Hear from one homeowner on his involvement with the project here:

Video produced by Flathead Electric Cooperative.

Flathead Electric Cooperative’s focus is on creating defensible space around substations and electric infrastructure, reducing hazard trees and establishing roadway fuel breaks along utility rights-of-way—many of which align with roads and serve dual purposes of safe entrance/exit access and utility protection. In their first year, Flathead Electric Cooperative completed 400 acres of fuels reduction and hazard tree mitigation, with another 1,094 acres of defensible space and fuels reduction treatments to be completed.

“Flathead Electric Cooperative has such a broad audience—everyone has power. It allowed us to have a wide reach in the community—to anyone with electricity,” said Amanda Opp, Integrated Services Manager with Flathead Electric Cooperative. “We are out there doing the work and they’re seeing us in their neighborhoods making good progress toward reducing wildfire risk.”

During community outreach events, Flathead Electric Cooperative heard from members of communities outside the grant area who were interested in the work being done and how they could make a difference in their own communities. Flathead Electric Cooperative hopes to expand the program to serve other communities in need.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with all Forest Service feature stories!