Fire district dedicates land for station

The Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District gathered with members of the Henry family on Tuesday, August 8, 2023 to honor the efforts of Mary and David Henry. The Henrys began gathering signatures in the upper Lynch Creek area over 30 years ago. Their plan back then was to have a fire hall built to accommodate the residents beyond Blanchards Corner. On Tuesday, the children of the now deceased Henrys donated a part of the Henry land to the Rural Fire Department.

"Paul Harvey has been doing the dirt work. Most of his time has been donated. Paul is on the fire department also. He couldn't be here today," James Henry said. Henry was on the district for 22 years and has been on the board for several years, he said. The expanded range that the new satellite fire hall would service includes the area that "runs from Blanchards Corner to the north and would take in the new sub development," Henry added.

Clint Weedeman, who is the chairman of the rural fire district's board of directors, said that the vegetation is quite dense in the proposed area. "The trees are so thick that you can't walk through them." He added that some of the residents have worked to clear out the dead fall for fire prevention.

The rural fire district functions on an " archaic budget", according to Weedeman. "Since its inception in the 1980's we have not asked or received a budget increase," Weedeman said.

Their resources are partly attributed to the levies, fundraising, and contracted income from the state and federal government. Their income is not solely tax based, but is limited. Besides fighting rural fires in the Plains and Paradise regions, the district provides services to wildfire agencies including DNRC. They have numerous aid agreements with the sheriff's department to assist with highway accidents, traffic and extractions. The district sends equipment and men on wildfires which helps with their earned income. They provide wave runners for water rescues. There are specialized rafts and a truck to haul equipment that the district maintains. The rural fire department also assists the Emergency Medical Services with specialized lifts for emergency evacuation or transportation.

"The Cedar Creek project came to a halt. We need to attract funding and look at funding in the fiscal year budget," Weedeman said."I would just as soon build out of pocket, if we could. It would take a reasonable cost to service this growing area," he concluded.