Star Meadow evacuees take one day at a time

For the last three weeks, Sam McGough has watched the Brush Creek Fire creep steadily toward his Star Meadow home. Even though recent winds have driven the fire north, away from his property, the flames are uncomfortably close to McGough's 80 acres.

"It's still getting close. They say it's three-and-a-half, four miles away right now," he said.

"That fire started 15 miles away from me. The whole time, it's just been headed right to me. The middle of the front is just headed right in my direction. Hopefully they can stop it."

McGough and his wife, Donna, have waited at home for the fire to arrive, even after they were asked to leave. Two weeks ago, the Flathead County Sheriff's Office issued a mandatory evacuation in Star Meadow when the fire reached a four-hour trigger point three miles away.

As of Thursday, the sheriff's office had no immediate plans to lift the evacuation order.

"We're going to keep the four-hour notice on for the Star Meadow area for another couple of days," Sheriff Mike Meehan said.

If, in that time, firefighters can reinforce the fireline and mop up 300 feet in from the line, he might lift the order.

"We will put up an infrared flight, and if it shows cold all the way to 300 feet in, we will probably begin lifting the evacuation order," Meehan said.

About half of Star Meadow's residents left when the order was issued Aug. 3; most have since returned. Others, including the McGoughs, never left.

They stayed to protect their property. The McGoughs have owned land in Star Meadow since 1980 and have lived there full time since 1986.

For the last two weeks, they've been working nonstop, wetting buildings and thinning trees. Their property is heavily wooded, so they hired Chip 'N Away, a local fuels-reduction company, to thin it.

"They're a great team," McGough said. "I don't know what I'd do without them."

While the crew is happy to help McGough, they prefer to reduce fuels before a fire becomes a real threat, owner Ted Steiner said.

"We're trying to get the work done before there is a fire, so folks are prepared when there is a fire," he said.

McGough said he wished he'd thinned his trees earlier.

"If this one don't get to us, it's shook us up enough so we know we need to be more prepared," he said.

If more thinning had occurred throughout the forest, the fire might not have grown so large, he added.

"There are a lot of fuels out in the woods, because logging has been hampered so much by these different organizations," he said. "If there'd been more logging, the fires wouldn't have so many fuels to burn, and it wouldn't burn in so many different directions."

A lack of fuels on her property is the primary reason Jean Barber didn't evacuate. She, her daughter, Lisa, and her daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Paul Mico, operate a 240-acre ranch in a valley on the edge of Star Meadow.

"Even if it burned the hill in front of the ranch, we wouldn't leave," Barber said, "because I think all of our buildings are pretty defensible."

She and the Micos have spent most of the last two weeks hunting missing cattle. They hauled most of their cows, as well as their goats, chickens and horses, to Coram and Kila, but 40 pairs were still unaccounted for when the sheriff ordered the evacuation. By Thursday, they'd found all but 10.

Firefighters and U.S. Forest Service personnel helped them locate many of the missing animals, Barber said. Anytime they spotted a cow, they reported it to Mico.

"We are so appreciative," she said. "It's been very, very helpful."

The cattle spend the summer on Mico's 17,000-acre grazing allotment, most of which has burned.

"We have no lease for the remainder of this year or for the foreseeable future," Barber said.

They haven't had time to worry about how they'll feed the cattle in the future, she added. "We have no idea, because we've been so busy focusing on the cows we've got left."

Many cows haven't escaped the flames unscathed; at least one is lame, and several have been burned. Even those in good condition aren't easy to round up.

"They're very spooky because of the fire and smoke. It's difficult to get them to come down to the ranch, out of harm's way," Barber said.

Some Star Meadow residents haven't come back. Linda Carpenter, executive director of Hope Ranch Star Meadows Academy, doesn't expect to return this month.

Students and staff at Hope Ranch, a therapeutic program for troubled teenage girls, evacuated as soon as the sheriff issued the order Aug. 3. They spent the night at Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish, and then moved to Summit Preparatory School west of Kalispell.

Summit gave the girls a wing to use, Carpenter said, and the American Red Cross donated cots for the 24 girls to sleep on. Each day, they have classes at one of the local grange halls.

"We're calling it our great adventure," Carpenter said. "They're being great troopers about this, and it's been a wonderful learning experience for the staff and the girls.

"Always out of crisis comes great opportunities. … I believe if you ask the staff, they feel we are all even more of a bonded family than we were before."

Carpenter notified parents the week before the evacuation order came, warning them that the fire was approaching but assuring them that the school had an evacuation plan in place. A van was packed with food, first-aid supplies and sleeping bags, and all the girls had two days' clean clothing in bags next to their beds.

They evacuated the school in the middle of the night; Carpenter called each of their parents the following morning. Since then, she has updated them weekly about the fire and how the girls are doing.

"The parents have been very supportive," she said. "It's a tremendous amount of trust and support on the part of the families that have entrusted us with the care of their child, and that's very gratifying."

Staff members return to the ranch only if they need something there, Carpenter said. Fire officials have told her the fire is still "dangerously close to our residential buildings," possibly within half a mile.

"They asked us to be out until Sept. 1," she said. "We are prepared to do that."

Until then, firefighters will use Hope Ranch for showers, she said.

"It's something we can give back to the community," she said. "The U.S. Forest Service and the local firefighters do a tremendous job. I just can't thank them enough."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com