Our Fire Plan

Since our July 31st post about the fires to the north and south of us, we've had several folks ask what our fire evacuation plan is.  Great question!  It's something we have spent a lot of time on.  The fire threat for us is not a forest fire but, as I mentioned in that post, a wind-driven grass fire most likely caused by lightning during a thunderstorm.   

In that scenario, evacuation is not really an option with this many animals -- 40 dogs, 32 horses, and 10 cats.  We'd need to own a couple of semi trucks with huge stock trailers ... and even then, by the time we got everyone safely gathered and loaded, the grass fire would have swept through.  So evacuation is not practical or feasible.

Instead, our fire plan is based on creating "defensible" spaces around the barns and corrals and other buildings.  We would bring the horses into the corrals, which themselves are pretty fire-resistant with metal corral panels and nothing else to burn.  Each barn and set of corrals has 200 feet of hose and an accessible hydrant.

We had a grasslands and fire expert out for a site review a few weeks ago, in fact, to review our particular situation and our plan.  As a result of that visit, we found that our barns are actually well built to withstand fire (and all of our buildings have metal roofs).  The one recommendation was to reduce the likelihood of airborne embers getting trapped under eaves and erupting into flames hours after the main fire is out.  So our contractor is putting up screens or solid wood panels, depending on the structure, to close off the eaves.

Key to our defense plan is our fire trailer, which is what you see in the photo above.  The trailer has a fire suppression unit on board, which includes a 155-gallon water tank (the black square tank) and a 100' high-pressure fire hose and pump powered by a Briggs & Stratton engine.  It's all contained in that one unit, which is called a Defender 3.  The U.S. Forest Service uses a bigger version of this model for its pick-up truck-mounted fire suppression units.

By flipping a lever, the pump can reverse the flow and suck water into the tank for a rapid refilling, which is why we have a 200-gallon reserve water tank on the front of the trailer.  The big green hose is already set up to drop into the reserve tank for that purpose.  (The tank in the back of the truck is what we use to fill water troughs in the pastures.)  We also have two 300-gallon stock tanks filled with water and standing by for additional refill capacity.  The pump can suck in far more water, much faster, to fill the main tank than we can accomplish using a regular hose from a yard hydrant. 

This fire trailer will allow us to attack a fire as soon as it starts anywhere on the property, so we can (hopefully) keep it suppressed until help arrives from our local volunteer fire department.  With a wind-driven grass fire, 10 minutes of containment can make all the difference.

The other critical part of our defense plan is the National Weather Service radar for our region, which we keep running on a continuous loop on our office computers so we can monitor developing storms throughout the day and night.  This is what gives us the all-important heads-up if thunderstorms are headed towards us.  If we see a severe thunderstorm developing and tracking our way, we bring the blind horses in from pasture and put the dogs up.  Then we stay on alert until the storm passes.  Here's what the radar looked like tonight as I was writing this post.

In the photo above of the fire trailer, you can see how dense the smoke is in our valley.  Normally you'd see a mountain range to the left behind Beauty's Barn, but not today.  Look at the photo from the July 31st post for a comparison. We're just packed with smoke. 

Comments

[Al & Mimi Moore]

Hi folks!

Mimi and I are now in Alaska and are planning to move back to Montana. We'd like to find a home in your area.

We have been on the Board of the Kalispell Spay & Neuter Task Force and have completed MANY hours of volunteer work with the task force.

We really would like to help you out and will, most certainly, if we can locate somewhere near to you upon our return this fall.

Keep up your WONDERFUL work!

Al + Mimi Moore + our 'herd'

[Kathy Goog]

The difference in your skyline from 7/31 to 8/2 is a scary thing to see. Hope the RDR stays out of harms way; Defense is the best plan with so many to take care of. Looks like you are ready for anything that comes at you.

[ginger & Tobias (the greythound)]

It's great to see you have a plan & a great system at the ready. It's got to be unsettling to have fires so close. I hope you won't have to use any of that equipment, but it sure is nice to know that you have it, if it's needed. Thanks for looking out for all the dogs, cats, & horses in your loving care!
ginger, Tobias & Tlingit

[Margaret]

Here's hoping that your plan is the "insurance" that you'll never EVER need to use it.

[Rose]

Fires. Copper Kid. I am sending out good vibes to Copper Kid (can you feel them CK) and crossing my fingers so that these fires and storms go easy on you all. So, after taking myself too deep in the 'what if' factors, I had to look up some mindless (but cute) humor to get me focused again. Here is a link if anyone else needs it. It is a parody film preview entitled 'Planet of the Pugs'. Oh so scary :O Hang in there, all of you. http://www.movieweb.com/video/V07A035678qEPT

[Joe and Judy Taylor]

GOOD JOB!!!!!! It great to know you are so well prepared for whatever??????? Let us all say a silent and strong prayer that there is NO reason to use the fire trailer!!!!! Stay safe and let us know the latest about the fire situation---like you have nothing else to do!!! Stay strong and take very good care of yourselves ----you have some very precious critters to take care of and...... Bye for now 2 Doxiholics from WA.

[Mircat]

Excellent planning ahead logistics! Good job getting professional advice too! You've obviously given some serious thought to all this. So cudos!!

[Mary]

I hope you don't have to deal with any fires. I can't imagine how confusing and scarey it would be for a blind animal to smell and hear the fire and panic. I know living in the west we have to deal with it. I have a pen for my horses with very little vegitation that could easily be wet down, but those grass fires travel fast. Moving so many animals would be imposible. I just pray you never have to use the water pump.

[kimmer]

It's about time you showed off your "fire suppression system". I think you still need a firemans hat and badge!!!

[Janet]

You are awesome. Your corporate background shows through like a bright light. Thanks for sharing all the details; I love reading this kind of information.

Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

[Mary Young]

Thanks for sharing your fire plan for everyone's beloved Rolling Dog Ranch, sounds like you are ready id disaster strikes!We love you

[Mary Ware]

Looks like a great plan. I feel much better about everyone's safety at the sanctuary. It seems each season that nature brings it challenges but ya'll are well on top of it all. I'm thinkin' that the hay barn turns into an ark in case of a flood?

[Shirley & James]

So relieved but not surprised you have a very solid plan for the fire season. I hope you never have occasion to use this equipment at the RDR. Thank you for this blog and all the many, many updates.