BITTERROOT VALLEY — With the Sharrott Creek Fire forcing people near St. Mary Peak out of their homes, many Bitterroot residents took to Facebook offering evacuees anything from places to sleep to animal transportation.
“I can't imagine being told you have 10 minutes to just pack what you can pack and get the heck out of here,” stated owner of Clark's Canine Camp Kathy Clark.
After the Sharrott Creek Fire started blazing, Clark who is a licensed veterinary technician shared on Facebook that she could take care of animals in need of a place to go.
“I just feel like if I had that opportunity I need to offer it. I can take 10 to 12 cats. And I've had up to about 32 dogs here at a time. Someone has some goats, I can take some goats. I have a little barn. I could put some hogs or goats in there too,” Clark told MTN.
Jessie Smith lives in Corvallis but decided she needed to do something to help her Stevensville neighbors. “My first instinct was to help. I knew that with the fire being so close to town, there was a possibility of evacuations and in cases like that, having the available space and the land wanted to open up and help the community,” said Smith.
As evacuations were ordered, Smith got to work getting her land ready for company. “We do have the space to take in maybe a family. We have an extra room and any kind of animal assistance that needed campers even can park down in the pasture, cars, storage, anything that they would need,” she detailed.
Bruce Wareing opened his storage business in Florence to give people near the fire space to put their belongings and RVs can use the lawn too. He said, “That's tragic, what's going on up there. And I know people were heading out, a lot of people up there probably have RVs. And we thought, well, this would be a perfect field for people to park in and stay in.”
Even through the hardship, the kindness of the Bitterroot Valley is rising up above the smoke.
“No matter the circumstance, it could be a fire, it could be a storm, it could be whatever it is. If somebody reaches out for help, the community comes together,” Smith shared.
Clark echoed her sentiment, “When you put out there that someone's in need in this community, people just come together and they really help. It touches people's hearts. They want to do what they can.”
There are even more Bitterroot neighbors offering up their houses, land, and storage facilities including Michelle Lynn who told MTN, "Anyone who needs space, we have 11 acres for animals. 2 large dog run kennels, a goat pen, and lots of space for campers or trailers. We are on the backside of Lee MetCalf so miles away from the fire."
Visit Bitterroot Valley Facebook pages for more resources.
