A firefighter’s duties are wide ranging, from dousing flames to providing first
aid.

But when the Sandy River overflowed its banks in mid-January — destroying a
section of Lolo Pass Road and stranding residents, pets and belongings — the
dedicated firefighters of the Hoodland Fire District went well beyond their
typical duties.

In the aftermath of the flood, members of the district set up a shuttle
program to help residents without transportation, delivered mail (and UPS and
Federal Express parcels), delivered food and fuel, performed daily welfare
checks on each structure and dozens of other duties on top of their normal
ones – including three structure fires on top of the flood response.

“The staff was very unselfish; a lot of staff did it on their own,” said fire chief
Mic Eby. “(Staff) came in on days off and volunteered; volunteers didn’t know
the word quit — they just kept going and going and going.”

During the 12 days firefighters responded to the flood event, one welfare
check made all the difference for one house on “the dark side” (the area north
of the washout on Lolo Pass that was without power). Eby reported that a
team performing checks noticed some smoke coming out of a building and got
permission to enter it.

A resident there had accidentally left burners lit on the stove and had put a
cutting block with candles on top of them. Just as the team entered, the fire
started to grow, but the firefighters were able to put it out before it got to be
a bigger problem.

Volunteers also stepped up with a solution to get around the flood-ravaged
road and set up a rig on the dark side. As Eby described it, a couple
volunteers asked how badly he wanted to be able to get a rig through. It was
a high priority, so the volunteers created a makeshift road from a trail.

“I never saw those guys again and two days later on the radio, I heard, ‘the
eagle has landed,’” Eby said. “The rig was on the other side, ready to take
care of it all.”

In the aftermath of the flood, making that road more passable and secured for
emergency use is on Eby’s wish list, along with permanent cell phone service
in the affected area.

And while Eby praised his staff and volunteers for their hard work and
dedication, he also credited the community for its tremendous response. Many
people showed up to volunteer, others responded with ATVs and food poured
in from all corners of the community.

“We’re a fraction of what’s going on,” said Eby of the district. “There are
people coming out of the woodwork. It’s amazing (and) it’s fun to watch and
see, but it’s better to be a part of it.

“I think we all gained weight on this disaster,” he said, referring to the
amount of food donated.

All told, responding to the flood cost an estimated $12,285 at last calculation
for the district, although Eby noted it was “very manageable” and he expects
to get part of that reimbursed through the emergency disaster proclamation.
He added that in the future, the district needs to react to what it can see, not
just what the weather forecast offers. He also hopes to be faster in setting up
a temporary cell phone system and reader board for useful information, such
as shuttles, available services and the status of utilities.