BELFRY- — Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte met officials at Belfry Elementary School Thursday afternoon to get a briefing on the Robertson Draw fire.
After the public briefing, Gianforte accompanied officials to the fire lines but not before he talked about plans moving forward.
“As these fires get bigger, we need federal resources. I was very pleased on this Robertson Draw fire that we secured federal funding (from FEMA) just yesterday. The feds are going to be paying 75% of the cost of that. That preserves our fire suppression funds for additional fires we may see later in the year,” says Gianforte.
Community members have also been raising money for the firefighters who have set up their base at the Belfry school.
“Right now we have a link that people have been sharing like crazy on Facebook and there's almost $4,000 in that account, and then PayPal and Venmo there is probably about $1,000 there so $5,000 total, and I'm not sure about the supplies but the community support is incredible,” says Katie Moldenhouer, the donation organizer.
The donation money is used to buy supplies such as water, Gatorade, snacks, and other products for the fire crews.
Moldenhouer also has a tab open at a Belfry restaurant so any firefighters can get a hot meal, paid for by community donations.
