REED POINT — A new wildfire ignited eight miles outside of Reed Point Saturday night in Hobble Diamond Ranch.
According to the Sweet Grass County Sheriff's Office, the cause of the Diamond Incident fire was lightning. According to MT Fire Info, as of Sunday evening, it has burned 613 acres and is 10% contained.
This comes just two weeks after a similar wildfire broke out in the area, the Shank Basin fire, which burned 325 acres.
According to locals, the Diamond Incident started burning southwest of the Shank Basin fire and is blowing toward where that one originally burned. They are hoping it will reach that point and then stop.
The two recent fires have brought up concerns about the impacts this may have for many in the area.
“Lots of fires. One afternoon, there was dry lightning it seemed like every night,” said Reed Point resident Rick Ostrum. "Some people's houses are getting trudged out there."
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“It's absolutely breathtaking in the worst kind of way,” said another resident Jennifer Vowns. “It’s heartbreaking. You've got wildlife. You've got stock. You've got people's livelihoods, something that they work on for generations. That's all at risk of being gone and just in a flash."
However, where there is disaster, there is also hope. The community of Reed Point has come together to make meals for the firefighters, which is what they also did two weeks ago when the Shank Basin fire broke out.
A group of almost 30 people came together after learning of the efforts through Facebook posts and word-of-mouth at the Waterhole Saloon in Reed Point.
“We had older folks, little children out helping, so it was just a combination of a lot of folks here in the community,” said Vowns.
Vowns is also a cook at the saloon and arrived early Sunday morning to help in the kitchen putting together the meals and supplies.
“They had a peanut butter jelly station, they had meat sandwiches, lots of apples and granola bars, water, Gatorade, things like that all went out this morning,” said Vowns.
Tara Whisman, a Reed Point local, even helped by preparing cut-up fruit at home for the firefighters to bring later that day when more would be needed. She felt that it was important to help out during a critical situation and make sure those fighting the fire stayed fed and energized.
“Our country won't survive without our firefighters. We need them,” said Whisman. “If our firefighters can have the food and energy to get the fires put out, that's what's important.”
Fire season is certainly taking a toll on many in Montana, but these community efforts from Reed Point prove that they will still answer the call to help every time.
“When tragedy strikes, whether it be wildfires or the flood, everybody puts their differences aside, comes together to make sure to keep the community and its residents safe,” said Vowns.
