NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 53

VIEWPOINTS ON FIRE
AND LIFE SAFETY

departments. Why are things different in Missoula County?
I think the reason for having this
role is because wildfire and people's
experiences with wildfire are just so
ingrained in the minds of residents
in Missoula County. Having a dedicated position was needed, especially
following a string of wildfires we experienced in 2017. Often, fire departments
and emergency managers are overburdened or don't really have the capacity
to fully focus on wildfire preparations. The community members have
a lot of questions, and they want to do
what they can to be best prepared and

involved. So having a specific role like
this makes sense.

It's interesting that you say wildfire is "ingrained in the minds"
of people in Missoula County,
because I think a lot of people
don't think of Montana when they
think of wildfire. They think of
places like California or Australia.
I get that, but western Montana
and eastern Idaho have always had a
legacy of wildfire. The Great Fire of
1910 burned 3 million acres in Idaho,
Montana, and Washington. Today,
Montana is in the 86th percentile of

wildfire likelihood, which is higher
than Arizona, and Idaho often has the
highest likelihood of wildfire in the
country. So we experience a lot of wildfire effects in Missoula County.

You mentioned some 2017
wildfires. Can you expand on that?
Most wildfires here are small, with 97
percent of them being under 10 acres.
But 2017 was an exceptional year. We
saw more than 230,000 acres burn in
Missoula County alone, which is an
area about one-third the size of Rhode
Island. And during the months of July,
August, and September, some towns
N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

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http://NFPA.ORG/JOURNAL

NFPA Journal - July/August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - July/August 2020

Contents
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 1
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 2
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 3
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - Contents
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 5
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 6
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 7
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 8
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 9
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 10
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 11
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 12
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 13
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 14
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 15
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 16
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 17
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 18
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 19
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 20
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 21
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 22
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 23
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 24
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 25
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 26
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 27
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 28
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 29
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 30
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 31
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NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 33
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 34
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 35
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 36
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 37
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 38
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NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 40
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 41
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 42
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 43
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 44
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 45
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 46
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 47
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 48
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 49
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 50
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 51
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 52
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 53
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 54
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 55
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 56
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 57
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 58
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 59
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 60
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 61
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 62
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 63
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 64
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 65
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NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 77
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 78
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 79
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 80
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - Cover3
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - Cover4
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20121112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20120910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20120708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20120506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20120304
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