$10M Wildfire Defense Grant to Help High-risk Glacier Gateway Communities

Residents of Flathead County communities spanning the forested corridor between Columbia Falls and West Glacier are eligible for financial assistance to help guard against wildfire risks. The federal assistance is available through a $10 million Community Wildfire Defense Grant awarded to Flathead Electric Cooperative (FEC), Montana West Economic Development (MWED) and the Flathead National Forest (FNF).

Announced Monday in a joint press release, the grant is designed to help the communities of Columbia Falls, Coram, Hungry Horse, Martin City and West Glacier — collectively referred to as the “Glacier Gateway” — mitigate wildfire risks along Glacier National Park’s southern boundary. Flathead County has identified all five communities as being within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Glacier Gateway residents can apply for forestry assistance via MWED’s website: dobusinessinmontana.com/forestry-assistance/

The project was collaboratively developed through the Fire Safe Flathead (FSF) group, which was established in 2016 to address the local needs outlined in the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy and has met monthly since. 

MWED will work with interested landowners to complete property assessments, create defensible space around structures and connect or expand fuel breaks. FEC’s vegetation management crews will lead the five-year project and perform hazardous tree removal and vegetation management along the utility’s right-of-way, in addition to creating roadway fuel breaks. FEC will also improve defensible space around substations and electric infrastructure. FNF will serve in a support role to promote its goal of achieving “nationally cohesive wildfire mitigation planning,” the release states.

Christy Cummings Dawson, president and CEO of MWED, said in a prepared statement that, in addition to funding 3,523 acres of fuel reduction and enhancing the overall safety of area residents, “this $10 million project is dedicated to fostering economic growth and creating job opportunities, making it an excellent fit for the work we do at MWED.”

“Residents who receive grant funding for work to reduce their wildfire risk will also save money down the road, as maintenance will be more affordable and feasible for landowners in the future,” Cummings Dawson stated.

Jason Williams, FEC’s chief operating officer, said the grant will be instrumental in enhancing the utility company’s safety strategy laid out in its Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP), which is designed “to reduce our electric cooperative’s risk of wildfire on the system.” Williams said the plan is updated each year as FEC works to reduce the chance of utility-caused wildfire.

“We’re reducing available fuel, improving fuel breaks and working with private property owners to help them do the same in the areas immediately adjacent to our power lines,” he said in the press release.

During the grant process, FEC’s Amanda Opp, the integrated services manager, said she discovered that Hungry Horse, Martin City, Coram, West Glacier and Columbia Falls face elevated wildfire hazard potential compared to other communities in the U.S. Moreover, the project is identified as a priority area in the Montana Forest Action Plan for wildfire risk, increasing the urgency.

“Our cooperative is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric utility deeply connected to the communities we serve,” Opp said in the release. “When we heard about this grant, we knew we needed to apply on behalf of our members.” 

After FEC became aware of the Community Wildfire Defense Grant, the co-op formed a partnership with MWED to support the organizations’ common goal of creating fire-adapted communities in alignment with Flathead County’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), according to Opp. Together, FEC and MWED were awarded funds for powerline vegetation management and private property fuel reduction, as contemplated by the CWPP’s call for thinning and fuel reduction along roadways and critical infrastructure.

Kira Powell, FNF spokeswoman, said the collaboration between FEC and MWED “improves local forest health and lowers risk of fire ignition due to trees contacting powerlines” and fully supports the “partnership to mitigate wildfire risk across public and private lands and looks forward to continuing our existing collaboration.”

FEC crews work year-round to manage vegetation, trim trees, and maintain the electric distribution system, according to Opp.

“The treatment of hazardous fuels is one of the most proactive ways to reduce potential loss of life and property in the event of a wildland fire,” Opp stated in the release. “By following Firewise practices, creating defensible space, and treating fuels, landowners can lower their fire risk while increasing the chances that fire protection agencies can effectively deal with a wildland fire should it occur due to less intense fire behavior.” 

Mark Johnson, the CEO of FEC, said the cooperative delivers electricity to a geographic area exceeding 3,000 square miles — or “bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.”

“The CWDG funds are good for all our members, because as a not-for-profit, member-owned utility, we all share in the costs of mitigating wildfire,” Johnson stated in the release. “This grant injects $10M into our system without our members bearing the costs – that’s a great thing for every Flathead Electric member, and especially those up in the Glacier Gateway area.”

To learn more about how to apply for Community Wildfire Defense Grant funds awarded to the Glacier Gateway area, visit flatheadelectric.com/cwdg. To learn more about the CWDG program nationally, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/grants/cwdg

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