MISSOULA — The 2024 Western Montana Fair is off and running with games, food, and of course thrilling rides.
With the storms we've been experiencing in and around Missoula, what does the fair do about variable and intense weather? To make sure attendees are safe in case of any situation, Missoula County staff created an emergency action plan.
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In terms of weather, the county and fairgrounds teams stay connected to the National Weather Service and have a briefing every morning. All information from that meeting is sent out to fair vendors and partners, keeping everyone in the know.
"We call our local meteorologists and they give us a daily briefing of what to expect here at the Missoula County Fair and what weather we are expecting for the day. If they see any changes occur from the morning briefing, they will give us a call and give us any updates of what we are expecting. Ultimately, if we ever needed to evacuate the rides or just seek shelter, we would ultimately push everybody into our buildings to seek that shelter," explained Missoula County Safety and Training Coordinator Kim Adomo.
Plus, once again, carnival rides are towering over Missoula. However, if there are thunderstorms in the forecast, how do fair staff know when to get people off of the giant metal structures?
Paul Maurer Shows' staff constantly track lightning and make sure wind speeds are low enough to operate.
"So, when it gets above 20-25 miles an hour, we have to start looking at closing down some of the bigger rides, anything above 40 we're going to be shut down everything," shared Paul Maurer Shows General Manager Marque Lundgren.
"We have apps that notify us when lightning gets within 15 miles of us. When it gets within 10 miles, we have to shut down the high rides and then when it encroaches on that 10 miles, we have to look at shutting down the whole show and disconnecting some things until that passes," Lundgren told MTN.
The Western Montana Fair runs through Sunday, August 11 at the Missoula County Fairgrounds. More information about the fair can be found at https://missoulafairgrounds.com/.
