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2015: A year of fire, drought

by Becca Parsons Hungry Horse News
| December 30, 2015 6:08 AM

The year 2015 will long be remembered as one of drought and fire. In addition to the numerous wildfires in Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, 12 fires damaged homes, businesses and outbuildings. The fires disrupted people’s lives in Columbia Falls, Evergreen, the North Fork, Martin City and Coram. Two Columbia Falls residents died in an August fire and two pet dogs died in fires in February and May. Here is a month-to-month look at the major headlines of this past year.

In January, a major storm dumped an inch of snow an hour over three days. Algae Aqua-Culture Technology’s facility at F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. was completely destroyed by fire. Omnivore Inc., a company producing energy bars in Columbia Falls, received a Big Sky Trust Fund grant. The Columbia Falls Youth Softball Association partnered with the baseball association in Deer Park and Bad Rock to use the fields on Montana Highway 206. Half of the top-10 taxpayers in School District 6 saw their valuation drop by 3 percent. Columbia Falls speech and debate team won its 10th Class A state title.

In February, fires destroyed Dennis Beard’s Coram home and killed a pet dog and destroyed Janine Perry’s Martin City home. Columbia Falls student Kelci Christenson appeared in a Whitefish Credit Union ad during the Super Bowl. State Sen. Dee Brown, R-Coram, said she supported transferring some federal land to the state for the school trust. Columbia Falls was ranked in the top 10 safest places in Montana. 

In March, Glencore officially closed the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. plant after five years of sitting idle. The boys basketball team won its seventh consecutive Northwest Class A title. Norma Finberg, the matriarch of the basketball team, passed away. O’Brien Byrd announced plans to open a community market in the shed behind his liquor store. The former Midway Drive-in Theater was torn down to make room for a Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply store. The snowpack in Glacier National Park was vanishing in the unusually warm weather.

In April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officially proposed adding the CFAC site to the federal Superfund program for cleanup.  A fire up the North Fork destroyed Doug Barnes’ outbuilding and burned his foot.

In May, Stan Ortel’s house and garage on Brunner Road were destroyed by fire and a pet dog died. Glencore set up a CFAC community liaison panel to discuss cleanup and had its first meeting with selected local community members. Calbag Resources, hired by Glencore for demolition, started preparing equipment at the plant for an auction. 

In June, Jacob Hagen, 15, escaped a fire that destroyed his Martin City family home. Glacier Park was a month ahead of last year in plowing Going-to-the-Sun Road. The Park welcomed its 100 millionth visitor, Becky Janssen of California and her two children. 

In July, the fire season started early with a human-caused wildfire north of Glacier Rim off the North Fork Road. Toward the end of the month, a human-caused fire in Reynolds Creek burned eight miles along the Sun Road in Glacier Park.  

Glacier Park flew a water tank to Granite Park Chalet to store water during the drought. The former First Citizens Bank, Davall building, Park Merc building and two vacant lots behind the Merc were sold to developer Mick Ruis. 

In August, the Thompson Fire sprang to life in the Park and put up an impressive column of smoke visible from Columbia Falls. Firefighters also had to contend with the Granite Fire and the Sheep Fire in the Great Bear Wilderness. Brittany Kayleen and son Gavin Thomas Henrichon died and three others escaped a fire at Gene Hallas’s home on Trumble Creek Road. A fire in Evergreen burned seven outbuildings and three homes. A high-speed chase, that started in Evergreen, ended in the woods near Nyack. The Plum Creek Medium Density Fiberboard plant had an explosion and fire, but no one was injured. Wildfires also raged in the Spotted Bear area and the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

In September, the wildfires slowed down with rainfall and high elevation snowfall. The National Weather Service reported the summer was the driest and the fifth warmest on record. The drought caused the berry crop to fail in the Park and caused conflicts with bears at lower elevations. Melby’s Home Interiors was destroyed in an arsonist fire. Glacier Park considered using a trained border collie to shoo mountain goats and bighorn sheep out of the Logan Pass parking lot next summer. City Manager Susan Nicosia announced there were plans for a hotel at the Norem property and a pizza place at the former Back in Time Antique shop. The Columbia Falls library was remodeled with new furniture and shelving.

In October, Carol Pollock Kennedy, a former Hungry Horse News co-owner, died in a accident on Interstate 90. A grizzly bear sow bit a Wisconsin man when he surprised her and her two cubs as he hiked off trail in Many Glacier. The Columbia Falls Community Market had a successful first summer averaging 1,700 weekly visitors. The city approved Cedar Creek Lodge, the first hotel of its kind within city limits, and construction started quickly. Longtime Hungry Horse News reporter and columnist Gladys Shay died of natural causes. Three high school students shot a paintball gun into a crowd of students after school, hitting an eighth grader in the head.

In November, the Shestak family home on Sandy Hill Terrace was destroyed by a fire while they were at church. Demolition at CFAC continued with multiple trucks hauling recyclable materials out of town, leaving behind dust and debris. This brought unfounded concern of asbestos in the dust. Weyerhaeuser and Plum Creek merged to become the largest private owner of timberlands in the U.S. The Wildkats volleyball team won the Class A state title. After months of public officials and interested parties recommending to cancel gas and oil leases in the Badger Two Medicine region, the Department of Interior Sec Sally Jewell canceled the leases held by energy company Solonex. 

In December, CFAC reached an agreement with the EPA that set legal framework for the investigation and cleanup of the plant. Jeanette and Randy Cheney’s home on Grand Fir Lane was partially destroyed. Night of Lights celebrated its 30th anniversary with one of the most successful parades. Murdoch’s opened at the corner of U.S. Highway 2 and Montana Highway 40. The Bureau of Reclamation considered upgrading the Hungry Horse Dam for about $200 million. Glacier Park set an all-time record for visitation.