Chainsaw competition organizers present pandemic plan
Organizers behind the annual chainsaw carving championship took the unusual step last week of providing Libby City Council — and the public — with a detailed COVID-19 response plan for the fast approaching event.
“We really wanted to make sure we have done the absolute best to protect public health and that’s been a bigger focus than the chainsaw contest itself,” said Troy Douthit, a representative of the Kootenai Country Montana International Chainsaw Carving Championship.
Douthit provided the pandemic plan as city councilors considered a street closure request and open container exception for the event, which is scheduled for Sept. 10-13. Organizers of forthcoming events with more than 50 anticipated attendees are required to file plans for abiding by the state and county pandemic requirements. But the proposals typically get submitted to the Lincoln County Health Department for final approval.
Organizers behind two recent major events in south Lincoln County — the Kootenai River Stampede and Ignite the Nites — submitted plans to health officials, but those documents were never made public. Attempts to get the proposals from the health department either went unanswered or were denied.
At least one member of the rodeo committee took to Facebook prior to the two-day show to announce the event staff would not require masks despite the state and local mandate.
Under the proposal presented to Libby City Council on Aug. 17, championship organizers will direct foot traffic around the carving area to maximize social distancing. Carvers will be separated by more than six feet from each other and the audience. Competitors will be screened daily for symptoms related to COVID-19 and must pledge, before the event, to refrain from participating if they feel ill. They also must maintain a health log.
Portable toilets and hand washing stations will be made available. Cleaning and sterilization will occur twice a day throughout the venue.
Six-foot spacing will be marked out for patrons waiting in line at the food court, which will lack eating or covered seating areas. Six-foot spacing also will be mandated at the auction.
And, regardless of the ability to distance socially, masks will be required.
“Even where [six-foot] spacing can be maintained, it is an extra precautionary measure and one which we take seriously,” the document reads.
Signs stipulating the rules will be posted throughout the event and augmented by reminders made over the public announcement system. Masks will be provided free of charge for attendees.
“The health plan itself shows … where our biggest efforts have been in this planning process,” Douthit said.
Mayor Brent Teske thanked the group for presenting the plan, describing it as an “important piece” of the process. City council followed by unanimously approving the road closures and granting the open container exception.
The anticipated road closures include the first block of Mineral Avenue and a short distance in either direction along 2nd Street. On Sept. 13, the group will close the entirety of West 2nd Street between California and Mineral avenues for the auction. The open container exemption will apply from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 10-12 and from 8 a.m. until the final auction on Sept. 13.
“Safety is a huge concern for us,” Douthit told city councilors. “We’ll constantly monitor the situation. If things change, we’re ready to adapt to that.”
While the chainsaw-carving extravaganza will be a little less global this year — many overseas competitors cannot travel to the U.S. because of the pandemic — but organizers are staying true to the worldly spirit of the competition. Douthit told city councilors that one international carver trapped in Alaska after the pandemic hit the U.S. has agreed to participate.
