The recent East Fork Fire was a trying time for many and as such brought to light many areas where things need to improve to avoid the challenges and pitfalls that accompanied those trying to battle the blaze or were otherwise affected or involved.

A meeting to address those issues was recently held at the Chinook Volunteer Fire Department conference room.

Leonard Lundby, Fire Chief, Manchester Volunteer Fire Department was on hand to moderate the meeting.

On hand were members of the Chinook, Bear Paw, Kremlin, Wildhorse and North Havre volunteer Fire Departments as well as representatives from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), the Blaine County Sheriff's Department, Hill and Blaine County Commissioners, Land owners and Private Enterprise.

Lundby began the meeting by opening the floor for discussion and stated he was interested in hearing about the pros and cons of what transpired during the East fork Fire.

Lundby was searching for a common ground between parties that would highlight areas where all potentially involved in an incident can improve upon and what areas need more enhanced training. He added, "The fire is over and we need to look ahead."

Hands were raised and issues began to be discussed starting with some of the difficult situations the firefighter faced. It became abundantly clear that the main topic of discourse was the major breakdown in communication between all agencies involved, to include mutual aid between Phillips, Blaine, Hill and Choteau Counties, Rocky Boys and Fort Belknap Indian Reservations, local land owners, the DNRC and private enterprise.

The response was that meeting was extremely beneficial and discussion continued well beyond the conclusion of the meeting.

Several meetings have taken place in the region and in just the short time since the fire was contained have already proved extremely beneficial in addressing major problems and mending fences between parties involved.

One statement from a local land owner suggested that the landowners can be more prepared by working more closely with local fire departments to ensure their property is prepared to handle a fire should one occur.

By the end of the discussion a white board was filled with ways to improve the handling of a major fire should one occur again.

Leonard Lundby, Fire Chief of the Manchester Volunteer Fire Department was on hand to moderate the meeting that included people from all capacities along the Hi-line.

Some of the ideas discussed included the possibility of some radios being purchased by private enterprise and landowners to help assist with communication.

Another major issue discussed was mutual aid assistance between departments. A situation presented itself during the East Fork Fire where one department couldn't assist with the fire, even though they were on site without the permission from another department.

Lundby stressed to all in attendance that we have to train and train often to be fully prepared to handle emergencies such as this in the future.