Flathead fire manager preaches preparation

Summer may be a time for rest, relaxation and vacation for many, but Lincoln Chute has a different approach to the season.

As the fire service area manager for Flathead County’s Office of Emergency Services, summers are a time when Chute is busy keeping an eye on wildfires in Northwest Montana.

But Chute’s work in keeping the 100,000-plus residents of one of Montana’s largest counties safe begins much earlier than the summer solstice.

“Preparation in the offseason is key,” Chute said. “We have fire behavior classes on weekends. People don’t necessarily understand that during fire season, unless there’s a fire, we’re not the busy.

“We’ve already put in the time preparing to make it look seamless. There’s a lot that goes into it,” Chute said.

Chute, 53, came to the Flathead Valley in 1984. A native of north-central Wisconsin, he had tired of what he termed “too cold winters and too hot summers.”

He had planned to go to Alaska for work in construction, similar to what he did in Wisconsin. But his stop here was to visit an uncle, aunt and three cousins.

Chute started coaching a youth baseball team, got a job at Evergreen Discount, which is now the Super 1 Foods store. After a semester at the Flathead Valley Community College, he returned to construction work and spent 20 years with Centennial Log Homes. He and two others then bought the business before he sold his share a decade ago when he went to work for the county.

During that time, he joined the Bad Rock Volunteer Fire Department.

“I really enjoyed it, the community service aspect,” Chute said.

Chute is pleased with and proud of the relationships that have been built with area fire departments.

“We have great relationships with all the departments,” Chute said. “When someone calls 911, they don’t care what color the engine is when it shows up. They just want help.”

Part of the challenge is coordinating the efforts of local departments that have either full-time members or volunteers, crews with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, U.S. Forest Service and Glacier National Park.

“We all have different rules to follow, so our goal is to cater to the strengths of each department,” Chute said. “How do you coordinate that and work as a team? That is our goal.”

The first big fire Chute was involved with while a member of the Bad Rock Fire Department was the 2001 Moose Fire. According to a previous Daily Inter Lake story, the fire began in mid-August 2001. It crossed the North Fork Road and burned into Glacier National Park. When rain finally helped extinguish the massive blaze, it was measured at 71,000 acres.

“It intrigued me and really developed my interest in wildfires,” Chute recalled.

He also worked on the Wedge Canyon blaze that burned 53,325 acres in Flathead County in 2003.

“I continued to take a lot of wildland fire classes and when a position opened in the county for a structure protection, I applied and with all my experience, I got it,” Chute said.

A great deal of Chute’s efforts include communicating with the public so people know what they can do to reduce their risk if wildfire approaches their property.

“Sixty percent of the Flathead population lives in the wildland-urban interface and it’s an area that always will be prone to wildfire,” Chute said. “I implore people to do what they can to mitigate risk, make sure their addresses are highly visible, anything that helps prevent fire or make it easier for us to find them if there is a problem.

“We’ve done more public outreach this year trying to spread the word of preparation and that property owners can do things that don’t cost a lot of money,” Chute said.

He also continues his preaching of basic fire safety.

“Being careless with campfires, having chains hanging too low on trailers or people tossing cigarettes out their window are things we don’t need,” he added.

Chute said he is lucky to have a supportive family.

“I’ve been married to Amy for 23 years and she’s a native of the Flathead. We have two sons, 17 and 20 years old, and we’re happy how they are doing. They’ve been raised to work hard and be involved in their community,” Chute said.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker can be reached at sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com or 406-758-4441.