News Releases for June 2002
June 30, 2002
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Hoeven Activates State Assistance In Battle Against Sioux, Grant County Wildfires
BISMARCK, N.D. - Governor John Hoeven Saturday committed all available state resources to assist federal and local firefighters combating grassland wildfires in Sioux and Grant counties. The fires have burned the town of Shields in Grant County and claimed more than 15 thousand acres, much of it on the federally administered Standing Rock reservation. Five homes were reportedly occupied in Shields, and no injuries or fatalities had been reported in the fire area as of early Sunday.
Hoeven monitored the fires throughout the day Saturday, and was briefed at the state Emergency Operations Center in Bismarck late Saturday night, preparatory to a visit to the fire-ravaged sites Sunday morning.
Hoeven will meet Sunday morning with officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the lead federal agency fighting the fire; U.S. Forest Service Grasslands Fire Management Officer Maure Sand; and North Dakota Forest Service Fire Management Coordinator Mike Santucci at the fire command center in Fort Yates.
“Between the Department of Emergency Management, the National Guard and the Highway Patrol, the state of North Dakota is doing all it can to assist and support local and federal firefighters” Hoeven said.
Hoeven also asked Director of the Division of Emergency Management (DEM) Doug Friez; superintendent of the North Dakota Highway Patrol (NDHP) Col. Jim Hughes; and state adjutant general Maj. General Mike Haugen to put all available resources of the state DEM, NDHP and National Guard at the disposal of federal and local firefighters. Some of those resources are already on the ground, and others are being prepared, according to Hoeven.
At Hoeven’s direction the local emergency management center was activated at 3 p.m. Saturday to provide support and resources as requested. The Red Cross established feeding stations and a shelter for evacuees and firefighters at Fort Yates.
The North Dakota Highway Patrol Saturday assisted with traffic control and the coordination of evacuation orders. State police also assisted with fires on the east side of the Missouri River. These were reportedly extinguished or controlled by early Sunday morning.
The North Dakota National Guard (NDNG) late Saturday was preparing two UH-1H “HUEY” helicopters equipped with water buckets to help battle the fire. Another helicopter will be available for surveillance of the fires. In addition, the NDNG offered bulldozers and other heavy equipment to build firebreaks. The Guard was also bringing water trucks and qualified personnel to assist at the scene. North Dakota Forest Service Fire Management Coordinator Mike Santucci has been working with Bureau of Indian Affairs and U.S. Forest Service fire officials throughout the day Saturday and Sunday morning.
Saturday evening Hoeven requested a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Fire Management Assistance Grant to help provide resources for suppressing fires through the state Division of Emergency Management. The grant will pay 75 percent of the eligible state and local costs associated with the firefight. The goal of the grants is to prevent big fires from becoming major disasters. The request was approved within hours.
“This is the first time this year North Dakota has had to appeal to us for help with a wildfire,” said FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh. “It pains me to hear of the damage on the Standing Rock reservation and in Grant County. I want people there to know that the Bush administration will continue to be there, supporting our state and local partners in this summer of fire, as long as it takes.”
Firefighters from the towns of Solen, Selfridge, Carson, Flasher, Cannonball, Fort Yates and the Bureau of Indian Affairs are battling the blaze, with the assistance of South Dakota firefighters from Mobridge, McLaughlin, McIntosh, Isabel and Watauga.
The state is assisting and monitoring other fires around the state and will provide resources as available and needed.
“This is a state, federal and local effort, requiring coordination and communication,” Hoeven said. “Our state agencies and personnel are assisting and will continue to assist and support the efforts of local and federal firefighters.”
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