$10M Community Wildfire Defense Grant awarded to help high-risk Canyon communities

Opportunities are available for interested landowners to be assisted with property assessments and creation of defensible space around structures.

If you are a resident of Columbia Falls, Hungry Horse, Martin City, Coram, or West Glacier and wish to apply for Community Wildfire Defense Grant funds, visit your Co-op’s grant partner, Montana West Economic Development (MWED). 

Your Co-op is very proud to announce a grant award that will benefit all members by injecting $10 million dollars into improving the local grid’s resistance to wildfire – and particularly those members in the Columbia Falls, Coram, Hungry Horse, Martin City, and West Glacier communities.

Together, Flathead Electric Cooperative (FEC), Montana West Economic Development (MWED), and the Flathead National Forest (FNF) will receive $10M in Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) funding to help the communities, collectively referred to as the Glacier Gateway, better mitigate their risk against wildfire. Residents of these communities can apply for forestry assistance via FEC’s and MWED’s websites.

The CWDG project was collaboratively developed between FEC, MWED, and FNF as a result of relationships created through the Fire Safe Flathead group. 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 5-year project and perform hazard tree removal and vegetation management along the utility right of way (ROW), in addition to creating roadway fuel breaks along the ROW. FEC will also improve substation and electric infrastructure defensible space. FNF will support MWED and FEC as part of its priority goal of nationally cohesive wildfire mitigation planning.

Jason Williams, FEC Assistant General Manager of Engineering, Operations, and Power, said, “Everything we do is about safety. That’s reflected in our Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP), which captures our strategies to reduce our electric cooperative’s risk of wildfire on the system, and guards our members against injury, property loss, power shut offs, and more.”

Co-op Integrated Services Manager Amanda Opp added, “During the grant process, we found that compared to other communities in the United States, Hungry Horse, Martin City, Coram, West Glacier, and Columbia Falls face elevated wildfire hazard potential. Important work needs to be done to reduce wildfire risk for these communities.  This project is also identified as a priority area in the Montana Forest Action Plan (FAP) for wildfire risk, increasing the urgency. Our cooperative is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric utility deeply connected to the communities we serve. When we heard about this grant, we knew we needed to apply on behalf of our members.”

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

If you are a resident of Columbia Falls, Hungry Horse, Martin City, Coram, or West Glacier and wish to apply for Community Wildfire Defense Grant funds, visit your Co-op’s grant partner, Montana West Economic Development (MWED).