Community Wildfire Defense Grant

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). 

Together, Flathead Electric Cooperative (FEC) and Montana West Economic Development (MWED) were awarded $10M in Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) funding to help the communities of Columbia Falls, Hungry Horse, Martin City, Coram and West Glacier better mitigate their risk against wildfire. Collectively, these communities are referred to as the Glacier Gateway. All are identified as Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) by Flathead County.  

The project was collaboratively developed between FEC, MWED, and the Flathead National Forest (FNF) as a result of relationships created through the Fire Safe Flathead (FSF) group.  The FSF group was established to meet the local needs of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy and has met monthly since 2016.  

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, including contract 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. 

Christy Cummings Dawson, President and CEO of MWED, reflected, “In addition to funding 3,523 acres of fuel reduction and enhancing the overall safety of area residents, this $10M project is dedicated to fostering economic growth and creating job opportunities, making it an excellent fit for the work we do at MWED. Residents who receive grant funding for work to reduce their wildfire risk will also save money down the road, as maintenance will be more affordable and feasible for landowners in the future.”

Jason Williams, FEC Chief Operating Officer, 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. The WMP is updated each year as we work to reduce the chance of a utility-caused wildfire. We’re reducing available fuel in our ROWs, improving fuel breaks, and working with private property owners to help them do the same in the areas immediately adjacent to our power lines.” 

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.”

After FEC became aware of the Community Wildfire Defense Grant, the co-op formed a partnership with MWED to support the organizations’ common goal of creating fire-adapted communities in alignment with Flathead County’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). Together, FEC and MWED were awarded funds for powerline vegetation management and private property fuel reduction, as contemplated by the CWPP’s call for thinning and fuel reduction along roadways and critical infrastructure. 

Kira Powell, FNF spokeswoman, added, “The CWDG collaboration between FEC and MWED improves local forest health and lowers risk of fire ignition due to trees contacting powerlines. The Flathead National Forest fully supports the FEC – MWED partnership to mitigate wildfire risk across public and private lands and looks forward to continuing our existing collaboration.” 

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.”  

Mark Johnson, FEC Chief Executive Officer, summarized, “The area we bring electricity to is over 3,000 square miles – or bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. The CWDG funds are good for all our members, because as a not-for-profit, member-owned utility, we all share in the costs of mitigating wildfire. This grant injects $10M into our system without our members bearing the costs – that’s a great thing for every Flathead Electric member, and especially those up in the Glacier Gateway area.” 

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).