Just a few days ago, Northeast of Bozeman near the “M” trail, a wildfire broke out. At first the fire was small, but it quickly grew and started spreading up the mountain. Many firefighters, smokejumpers, planes, and helicopters were deployed to help put out the fire, but the fire continued to grow. Many of us started to fear the worst as the fire approached Bridger Canyon - a popular development with many expensive houses. A day later we learned that many of those homes had burned to the ground with nothing left but a foundation. This quickly turned from a small wildfire to a community tragedy.

All of Bozeman came together to help those fighting the wildfire, those who lost their homes, and those searching for help to relocate their livestock. The later of which I was amazed to see how the community came together. A Facebook group was started to help connect those who needed help to those willing to help. As I scrolled through the post, I saw many people searching for homes for their horses and other livestock. We offered to take in a couple horses, but at this point many people had found homes for their animals. Eaglemount in particular took in a large amount of horses and many people volunteered with their trailers to help haul the animals to their new locations. It was so wonderful to see the community come together in such a special way.

This fire has been a reminder that nothing is promised to us. One day you might have it all, but the next it can all be taken from you. I’m grateful to have a roof over my head and willing to do whatever I can to help those who lost their homes due to this tragedy. I know Bozeman will pull through this together and we will be stronger because of it.