Page 8 - Flathead Beacon // 5.13.15

8 | MAY 13, 2015 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM
Just
Sayin’...
“We cannot have the federal government violating the privacy of law- abiding citizens.”
Montana Sen. Jon Tester responding to a federal appeals court ruling last week that the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone records was illegal.
“Pigs do fly.”
CTV television host Don Martin reacting to the election results in Alberta last week. Canada’s most conservative province elected a left-of-center government, ending a 44-year-old conservative party dynasty.
“It’s shaping up bad for the states around us. If we have a big season, we will be in a queue of priorities. We could be overwhelmed.”
John Tubbs, director of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, describing the potential for an above-average fire season predicted for the state.
A massive fire burns at the Flathead County landfill on Sunday afternoon. JUSTIN FRANZ | FLATHEAD BEACON.
Wind, Gas and Debris Fueled Massive Landfill Fire
Firefighters from across the Flathead Valley battled the blaze for six hours before finally putting it out
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
It took crews six hours to suppress a massive fire at the Flathead County Landfill north of Kalispell on May 10.
West Valley Fire Chief Russ Sappington said gas, debris and winds helped flame
one of the biggest blazes his department has ever encountered.
The fire started early Sunday afternoon in an appliance pile, and Sappington said firefighters did not leave the site until 9:30 p.m. He said a landfill employee noticed the fire in the early afternoon and officials believe that something inside appliance pile sparked while a front-end loader was working. Things like lint, gas and other chemicals helped the fire quickly grow and within minutes it was spewing thick black smoke hundreds of feet into the air
“There were a lot of factors that led to this being a really hard fire to put out,” Sappingtonsaid.
More than 30 firefighters helped battle the blaze. Among the departments that responded were West Valley, Marion, Bad Rock, Martin City, South Kalispell, Kalispell, Smith Valley, Whitefish and Evergreen.
Sappington said firefighters finally got the blaze under control when they used a front-end loader to break apart the pile and attack the flames with foam.
Smoke from the fire could be seen from Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish. Traffic on nearby U.S. Highway 93 slowed to a crawl as onlookers watched the blaze.
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