Title III money buoys county first responders

While many government officials don’t get much credit for wise spending, one Lincoln County employee’s forethought is paying dividends to a number of area first responders.

Retiring county Forester Jennifer Nelson began squirreling away Title III funds a number of years ago with the idea they may be needed in the future. Her work piled up nearly $500,000 for the county’s rainy day fund that may be used for wildfire education, emergency services and fuel mitigation.

Title III is part of the Federal Secure Rural Schools (SRS) funding distributed to Lincoln County to offset lost revenues from reduced timber sale receipts from federal lands. The funds have very limited authorized uses, mostly having to do with wildfire planning and mitigation and emergency response. 

Lincoln County has utilized the funding in the past on a variety of education and outreach projects, the development and publishing of the 2023 Lincoln County Community Wildfire Plan and several wildfire mitigation projects throughout the county.

Nelson’s position was originally funded through Title III money, but she successfully sought several grants to help pay the bills.

But after years of the county being allowed to rollover the Title III funds, the Trump Administration is requiring any unspent money to be returned to the Treasury. 

Nelson said the current federal budget continuing resolution does not include reauthorization of SRS, meaning no additional funds will be available in 2025 or 2026, and possibly longer.

The authority to begin Title III projects for counties is Sept. 30, 2025, and the deadline to spend Title III funds is Sept. 30, 2026. Any money not spent by the deadline must be returned to the U.S. Treasury.

With that in mind Nelson said she reached out through the county Emergency Management Agency, headed by Boyd White, to various emergency response groups that could benefit.

Four proposals were received through the 45-day comment period, all of which met the requirements for Title III funding.

According to meeting minutes, Commissioner Brent Teske questioned the remaining balance if the request is approved and Nelson said some of the remaining money would be needed to cover previously agreed-to obligations.

Some of those include maintaining the Fire Adapted Kootenai website, the burn permit website, various trainings and home assessments of residences in the Wildland Urban Interface.

Nelson also emphasized the importance of retaining some funds to support local fire departments given the unpredictable fire season and reduced availability of federal and state workforce in the upcoming fire season.

District 2 Commissioner Jim Hammons made a motion to fund the submitted proposals and District 3 Commissioner Noel Duram seconded with the motion passing.

Now, three county emergency first responder organizations who put boots on the ground when fires - wild or otherwise - and other emergencies occur will benefit from the fund.

Following Nelson’s presentation at the April 23 county commission meeting, the trio unanimously approved spending $278,000.

Troy Volunteer Fire Department will receive $123,000, Libby Volunteer Fire Department will receive $86,000 and David Thompson Search and Rescue will get $69,000.

The money will help the often cash-strapped agencies pay for big-ticket items.

For example, Troy VFD can now buy 24 LC3 Harris fire-rated radios to replace outdated models that are the lifeline for fire crews working in a variety of extremely challenging conditions.

The LC3 Harris models, on the market since 2021, have been certified as meeting the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1802 standard, which is considered to be the most stringent testing regime for public-safety devices serving the firefighting community.

The rest of the money Troy will get - $41,000 - will equip a 2008 water tender with tank, radio, lift, lights, siren, plumbing and electrical supplies.

Troy VFD Chief DJ Welch said the radios are expensive, but they are what the government wants fire fighters to use.

“The mic cord on the radio can withstand heat temperatures up to 1,500 degrees if a firefighter is hit by a blast of flames,” Welch said. “It can really take a lot of punishment.”

For their 2008 water tender, the money will allow the department to upgrade the existing equipment and put it on a 4 WD chassis.

TVFD does some wildland firefighting in the area and a heavy-duty chassis is better suited for handling challenging conditions, such as on-road slippery surfaces (snow, ice, rain) and off-road rugged terrain.

“We hope to have the truck outfitted in a month and we really appreciate the commission for its help,” Welch said.

The Libby Volunteer Fire Department will get $86,000 to develop a 32,000-gallon water site for firefighting in the Wildland Urban Interface in the Flower Creek Road area.

Libby VFD Chief Steve Lauer said they chose the Flower Creek area because it was the biggest priority risk in the Parmenter area as identified in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

“We have a verbal deal with Jerry Bennett to lease the area for a dollar a year where the tanks will sit,” Lauer said. “Noble (Construction) is working on a bid to get the tanks poured in place instead of having them shipped in. They look like a big swimming pool.”

The tanks will be filled with water from wherever the fire department can get it and the water will be pumped from the tank to a fire hydrant where any agency fighting a fire can use the water.

Lauer said the tanks are similar to what are in place at the airport.

For David Thompson Search and Rescue, overseen by the county Sheriff’s Office, it will use $69,000 to buy and outfit a new Dodge Ram 2500 truck with rescue gear and components.

Thompson SAR’s Noah Pyle said getting a new truck is, “massive for us.”

Pyle said SAR’s aging fleet of vehicles includes two Ford F250s, one a 2001 model and the other a 2003.

“We spend quite a bit to keep them up and on the road, so getting a new truck is a big deal and we’re very appreciative of the chance to update our equipment and serve the county,” Pyle said.

He also said the truck is their primary tool for all their rescues, whether it’s on the water or ground. 

Nelson said she was very happy the commissioners approved all four project proposals and that the money would go toward helping people during emergencies in Lincoln County.