OPINION: Evergreen fire leads one man to ask questions about future
As one of many residents of Evergreen, I enjoy the proximity to Kalispell coupled with our community’s flavor of country living.
It’s a workable blend, but as with most transitional sectors bordering a city, it carries its own transgendered burden of broken identity. Its pastoral peace is woven with an industrial aura, and a growing portion, it is true, lies in rusted skeletal remnants of discarded former dreams. Long deceased, untended dreams that are becoming menacing nightmares to innocent others living on the fringe of walls and fences erected by some to hide volatile trash, rotting refuse, and encouraged weeds. Those can become sanctuaries for unfortunate transients perhaps fumbling through broken packs of smokes in a place where smoke has no welcome.
Last week’s remarkable effort on the part of fire departments, volunteers, and law enforcement officials to beat back a major fire in Evergreen was a marvel to behold. The leadership and direction of these public servants deserve heaped praises. Between the relayed loads of helicoptered water from above and the footfalls of sweaty bodies below, it was a testimony to humans banding together in a risky business for a common collective purpose: preservation...
In that flurry of confusion, somehow, the respondents artfully limited the fire’s range and avoided deeper collateral damage. During the prevailing north wind, subdivisions like my own on the north side of East Reserve were luckily spared ignition, only through those ceaseless efforts that afternoon. Errant sparks that did travel up to a mile away, briefly flaring parched ground, were thankfully squelched.
Those sparks, however, symbolize the far-reaching effects of the negligence illustrated by some land/home owners in our area who assume, by way of limited zoning restrictions, they have freedom to ignore the welfare of others nearby.
After the fire settled, a casual, observant mile walk around the perimeter of the fire area through Mountain View Lane and neighboring streets brought some sad truths to light; so much of the private property is sorely in need of watering, not just during this thirsty year of drought, but on a daily basis in general.
Long-toothed dogs on equally long chains guarded many homes, and stout weeds and decorative beer cans seeded here and there in the landscape added a gnawing sense of indifference to the whole atmosphere. It was quizzically noted at the time of the fire that a sizable number of residences sported clacking sprinklers at full volume, in front yards and on roofs alike, while the existing lawns were long dead from an absence of care. It somehow reminded me of the man adrift in a lifeboat who punches a hole in the hull of his craft to mount an umbrella for warding off the fierce tropical sun.
Conversations with officials afterward exposed a grim reality; a laundry list of requirements must be met to gain access to property that is an endangerment to the owner and bordering homeowners. Unless an imminent threat notable from curbside is witnessed, as with a living fire or a running stream of gasoline or other flammables, it’s “off limits” to trespassing, even for the good of the community.
Something must be done. Change must occur. County commissioners must find their craw and cough up some assertive action. Are we to perpetually allow the irresponsible freedoms of a few endanger the welfare of the greater number?
Sadly, upon departing the scene on the day after the fire, while smoldering ashes were still tended by residents and firemen, a graphic closure lay with legs protruding toward the sun in the barrow pit beside East Reserve. It was a large white short-haired dog in the throes of rigor mortis... likely someone’s beloved friend who became disoriented amid the sirens and traffic on that frenetic afternoon. Likely a victim of a wayward onlooker perched behind the wheel gawking at the flaming carnival.
Somehow, the sadness and the stench fit the garish scene. It is not the image I want for Evergreen. One can only hope the name, “Evergreen,” itself can someday wear the clothing of its character, not some far-from-humorous misnomer.
Vinson is a resident of Evergreen.