The CFP will improve planning tools for county and the fire district alike, which will result in better building and development codes and regulations, as they relate to the development of the WUI and urban development. The CFP fosters the preservation of the economy of Broadwater County by maintaining and improving the fire protection capability of the community.

Broadwater County retained Fire Logistics, Inc. to assist the County in developing:

1. Review the county’s existing comprehensive plan and proposed material for the Growth Policy. Provide proposed goal statements for public safety elements to be included in the Growth Policy.
2. Develop proposed mitigation strategies for consideration by the Broadwater Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to ensure fire protection is addressed in future or new developments.
3. Develop and propose for the BOCC’s consideration fire protection regulations for inclusion in the county’s subdivision regulations to include:

a. commercial areas

b. wildland / urban interface areas

c. all other subdivisions

4. Propose any needed changes to the county’s subdivision regulations to clarify the role of fire protection agencies in the subdivision process.
5. Propose alternatives and representative costs for the BOCC’s consideration to ensure a developer provides an adequate water supply for a project.
6. Conduct a fire station location study using ISO service distances for future fire station site planning with maps for county’s use.
7. Provide and produce, if necessary, public education materials for use by the County.
8. Digitize Broadwater County’s fuel hazard map.
9. Assist the Broadwater County Rural Fire District in developing a district wide fire plan.

A revision in the scope of work required Fire Logistics, Inc. to develop Broadwater County RFD’s Community Fire Plan. This document is the result of that work.

We work as a team to provide quality and cost-effective emergency services, preserving life and property, to meet the needs of our customers – the citizens of the Broadwater County RFD.

A brief discussion of the relevant fire policies is provided to educate the community.

We have briefly described the relevant policies at the national level which affect fire planning on the local level.

"The National Fire Plan (NFP) is a long-term investment that will help protect communities and natural resources, and most importantly, the lives of firefighters and the public. It is a long term commitment based on cooperation and communication among federal agencies, states, local governments, tribes and interested publics." It mandates community participation in its implementation. The NFP also mandates that local governments develop and adopt local land use plans and ordinances that provide for the maintenance of defensible space and fuel management on municipal and private property.

DMA 2000 sets policies for "disaster mitigation plans"—plans designed to avoid disasters such as fires and floods. DMA 2000 requires 4 elements in these plans all of which are incorporated into this document:

1. A planning process.

2. An assessment of risks.

3. A mitigation strategy (action plan); and,

4. A plan maintenance and updating process.

The pre-disaster mitigation plans must be approved by 11/04 to receive HMGP funds after that date.

Goals:

Improve Prevention and Suppression

Reduce Hazardous Fuels

Restore Fire Adapted Ecosystems

Promote Community Assistance

Successful implementation of the plan will include stakeholder groups with broad representation including Federal, State, and local agencies and the public, collaborating with local agency administrators on decision making to establish priorities, cooperation on activities, and increase public awareness and participation to reduce the risks to communities and environments."

Currently there are no State policies that require a rural fire district or county fire organization to develop a community fire plan.

It is the policy of the State to complete pre-disaster mitigation plans in compliance with the Federal direction noted above.

This CFP covers the boundaries of the Broadwater County RFD.

The Broadwater County RFD is organized as a rural fire district under 7-33-2101 through 7-33-2129, MCA. A five member elected Board of Trustees manages the affairs of the rural fire district. The trustees have the authority to provide adequate and standard firefighting and emergency response apparatus, equipment, personnel, housing, and facilities, including real property, for the protection of the district.

The goals of the CFP are to:

• Prevent loss of life and health from fire
• Prevent destruction of property
• Preserve and restore natural and beneficial function of our forests and watersheds
• Control future increases in fire damage in Broadwater County
• Educate citizens and local businesses on the content of the CFP.

Objectives to be accomplished by the CFP include:

• Identify, inventory and prioritize the fire protection needs in Broadwater County.
• Implement projects and programs intended to improve and up-grade fire protection.

Planning priorities of the CFP in order of importance are:

• Protect human life and health
• Protect critical community infrastructure
• Protect private property
• Protect natural resources

Fire Logistics, Inc. would like to thank the Broadwater County RFD, its Trustees, the Fire Chief and the District’s staff, the Helena NF – Townsend RD, the Broadwater County Planning Board, the Broadwater County Planner, the Broadwater County Disaster & Emergency Services Coordinator, the Broadwater County Local Emergency Planning Committee, Big Sky Hazard Management, and the Broadwater County Commission for their contributions to this plan.

Broadwater County RFD

USFS

Broadwater County Planning Board

Broadwater County Planner

Broadwater County Commission

Broadwater County LEPC

Big Sky Hazard Management

Refer to Broadwater County’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan.

In addition to the public meetings held by the Broadwater County RFD, the Broadwater County LEPC has held public meetings to develop the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan of which this document will become a part.

One of the earliest records of exploration of Broadwater County occurred in 1805 when the Lewis and Clark expedition made their way up the Missouri River. The 1800’s gold rush brought Broadwater County’s first population, with towns like Diamond City up Confederate Gulch and Radersburg in the Crow Creek Valley being the dominant population hubs (See Figure 1).

At one time in the early 1860’s, Diamond City was home to thousands of early prospectors, and the nearby Montana Bar was considered the earth’s richest acre. Radersburg, Toston, and Winston have managed to outlive their gold rush roots, whereas Diamond City vanished into the past. With the coming of the railroads, Townsend was officially established in 1883. The county was established in 1897 and named after Colonel C. A. Broadwater, president of the Montana Central Railroad.

The southern part of Broadwater County is noted for excellence in its agricultural production of wheat, hay, cattle, potatoes and other grains. Broadwater County has a wide variety of unique, special areas and opportunities for recreation development. All of the rural outlying areas have an abundance of open landscapes, wildlife, rural agricultural settings and recreational opportunities.

The two nearby mountain ranges, the Big Belts to the east and the Elkhorns to the west dominate the higher elevations of the Broadwater County topography. Elevations for the mountain ranges frequently exceed 9,000 feet above sea level with Mt. Baldy topping out at 9,472 feet. Sitting at the lowest elevations for the county, the landscape is dominated in the north by the presence of Canyon Ferry Lake, Montana’s most visited reservoir (See Figure 2).

As you move from the mountains toward the floor of the valley, a series of high gravel-capped tablelands are encountered. Below these tablelands are benchlands which are adjacent to the river bottomlands.

The most intensive land uses occur on the river bottomlands and the adjacent tablelands. These uses include farming and agriculture, town sites, and residential uses.

Climate directly affects fire behavior, with wind being the major influencing factor. Generally, winds in this area prevail out of the west, and are moderate to strong depending on the elevation and aspect. West facing slopes are more exposed to the prevailing wind, which relates to increased fire behavior activity. Fires generally spread from west to east. During calm days, fire spread will be dictated by topographic configuration and local upslope-down slope winds. During strong wind events fire spread will be dictated by wind direction and the winds will override the effects of the topographic features.

 Moisture regimes can be defined in terms of storm tracks, which generally move across the county from west to east. The storm track affecting the analysis area starts along the western edge of Broadwater County and tracks from west to east across the county. Typically, any significant moisture associated with these storm tracks has often been depleted prior to reaching the northern half of the county, but the higher elevations in the Elkhorn’s and Big Belts provide the orographic lifting that provides more moisture to this forested area. However, lightning associated with these storms can continue to contribute to a significant number of fire starts along the storm’s path. These dry lightning events increase in number as the sun angle increases in elevation. This dries the atmosphere and increases the elevation of building cumulus clouds. The strong down drafts are produced and are often accompanied by dry lightning. The moisture associated with the building cumulus rarely hit the ground, but become virga and evaporates before reaching the ground.

Figure 3 depicts the average annual precipitation for the State of Montana during the years of 1961 through 1990.

Climatic seasonal changes can influence fire behavior as well. Winter months of December through February are generally non-fire months, but snow pack accumulations can be a key factor in potential fire activity for any given summer. Spring seasons (April through June) are generally moist months with low fire frequencies. The ignitions that do occur result in mostly low intensity fires. Minor fire activity can occur in

early spring prior to green-up conditions. As the season turns to summer, grasses and shrubs begin to lose their live fuel moisture, down fuels begin to dry, and fire conditions normally peak by August. As autumn approaches, conditions generally begin to cool, but the presence of dry cold frontal passages become quite common and can promote conditions of extreme fire behavior. Late fall conditions in November mark the transition into winter, but again, dry cold frontal passages at this time of year and the lack of snow pack can lead to conditions of rapid fire growth and high intensity fire behavior during wind events.

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The Toston Dam on the Missouri River is located four miles south of the community of Toston. The dam provides water for the Broadwater Missouri Diversion Project. The dam which is owned by the MT Department of Natural Resources and Conservation provides electrical generation also.

The recreational use of the Canyon Ferry Lake provides both fire protection and search and rescue challenges to the Fire District and the Broadwater County Search and Rescue.

Many of the smaller streams from drainages in 16 Mile Creek, Crow Creek, Deep Creek and Duck Creek are used for irrigation. Some of these drainages, including Deep Creek, are experiencing significant residential development.

The 2000 Census shows that Broadwater County’s population was approximately 4,400. Broadwater County’s population has grown substantially since 1970, from 2,500 to nearly 4,400. The county has experienced significant growth in population during the

1990’s of about 32%, third highest in Montana.

Broadwater County has a higher percentage of people 65 years of age and older (16% compared to 13% for Montana), and the median age of 41 years of age for Broadwater residents compared to 38 years of age for Montana.

See Broadwater County Growth Policy Plan and Broadwater County Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan.

Broadwater County RFD is organized under Montana statutes as a rural fire district. The RFD has an independently elected Board of Trustees. The district is staffed with volunteer fire fighters and a volunteer Fire Chief. The Broadwater County RFD provides fire protection to the district’s five fire stations.

Engine 8113 - 1995 GMC Top Kick Central States Pumper, 1000 GPM Pump,

1000 Gal. Tank, and Deck Monitor.

Engine 894 - 1988 Chevy 4x4 Wildland Engine, 300 Gal. Tank, Wajax BB4

Pump, 300 ft. 1" Hose, 300 ft. 1½ " Hose.

Engine 892 - 1985 Ford 800 4x4 Tender, 1700 Gal. Tank, Wajax BB4 Pump,

Engine 838 - 1970 Ford F750 Howe Pumper, 750 GPM Pump, 750 Gal. Tank

Engine 833 - 1996 Chevy 1 Ton 4x4 Wildland Engine, 300 Gal. Tank, Wajax BB4 Pump

Engine 889 - Ford 800 Tandem Axle Tender, 2000 Gal. Tank, Wajax BB4 Pump, 2100 Gal. Fold-a-tank.

Engine 888 - 1969 Chevy C60 Tender Pumper, 500 GPM American Godiva Pump, 1000 Gal. Tank, 2100 Gal Fold-a-tank

Engine 895 - 1980 Chevy C30 4x4 Wildland Engine, 250 Gal. Tank, Wajax BB4 Pump

Engine 8102 - 1980 International 1800 4x4 Wildland Engine, 800 Gal. Tank, Gorman Rupp Pump

Engine 899 - 1979 Chevy C70 Tender Pumper, 1600 Gal. Tank, 500 GPM \ American Godiva Pump, 2100 Gal. Fold-a-

Engine 886 - 2000 Ford F450 4x4 Wildland Engine, 300 Gal. Tank, Wajax BB4 Pump

Problem factors that affect Broadwater County RFD’s ability to deliver services include:

• The location of fire stations and equipment.
• The change in population and demographics.
• The availability of adequate water supply for fire protection.

As in most rural areas, volunteers are hard to find and keep motivated; recruiting is a problem due to the limited number of people available for community service organizations, commitment of jobs limit the time available for training and the increasing documentation requirements overload the majority of volunteer Fire Chief’s. This leads to difficulty in recruiting and filling the position of fire chief with skills and experience.

Broadwater County’s current subdivision review process is very limiting to the fire department’s ability to require the needed infrastructure to provide the minimum levels of fire protection. This is also compounded by the limited expertise of the local fire chief when they provide recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners for conditions of approval for development projects. Most of the volunteer fire chiefs are "out-gunned" by engineers and/or surveyors during public meetings and hearings before the Planning Board and/or Board of County Commissioners.

Currently there is no impact fee process available to the rural fire district in Broadwater County to assist in the funding of capital improvements directly related to mitigating the impacts of subdivision development growth and service delivery requirements.

As a result of the current situation with the subdivision review process, substantial areas of the county are being or have been developed without adequate water supplies for fire protection. Due to the fiscal constraints of the Broadwater RFD, they are not in the position to provide enough water tenders to mitigate the lack of water supply.

Broadwater County RFD provides adequate wildland fire protection throughout the County. As a Coop-County, the United States Forest Service (USFS) Helena National Forest and MT Department of Natural Resources & Conservation (DNRC) provide assistance and support to Broadwater Country RFD during wildland and wildland/urban interface fires.

Broadwater County has mutual aid agreements with Eastgate RFD, Townsend VFD, Canyon Ferry FSA, and Three Forks RFD and participates in the state-wide mutual aid program.

The insurance premiums that residential and commercial customers pay are based on a rating system established by the Insurance Services Office (ISO). In its evaluation of a community, ISO considers the water system and the fire protection provided by the fire

department. The relative weight the components are:

Fire Department - 40

Fire Dispatch - 10

The rating system produces ten different Public Protection Classifications, with Class 1 receiving the most insurance rate recognition and Class 10 receiving no recognition.

Broadwater County RFD currently has an ISO Rating of Class 10.

Improvements to the water delivery system, dispatch and to the fire district could improve the ISO rating, which would result in some annual insurance premium savings to the fire district’s customers.

Broadwater County covers approximately 796,000 acres of land. Private lands cover 515,000 acres with state ownership of 24,500 acres and federal ownership of 281,000 acres. Approximately 35,000 acres of the federal ownership is covered by Canyon Ferry Lake (See Figure 5).

Of the private lands, they can be classified as:

Subdivision development is occurring on marginal agricultural lands, with significant development occurring on the west side of Canyon Ferry Lake. The development generally is along Highway 12 (287) from Lake View Estates north to the county line. There are approximately 400 building lots available in the county as of the writing of this plan.