Dear Editor:

We thought we were prepared to burn a small patch of cheat grass with several buckets full of water, a shovel and matches.

As I lit the weed burner and set the grass on fire, we soon found ourselves trying to battle a bigger blaze! Heat, smoke and violent flames soon engulfed the surrounding sagebrush as they burst into flames. Our buckets of water and shovels were no match for the fire and we soon lost all control of it! Heavy, black smoke made it difficult to breath or see from my watering eyes.

I asked my wife to call the fire department and we were concerned about their response time, as we live about 15 minutes west of Powell. But the firefighters arrived quickly and we watched an example of how a very well- trained force could soon be in action in seconds.

By the time I could breathe again from the smoke and see again from my watering eyes, the firemen had surrounded the fire. They started rolling out hoses and were flooding the fire with ample water from their trucks. With few words spoken, they got control of the runaway fire in minutes!

They took immediate action to take on the fire in exactly the right spots and not allow the fire to spread to the neighborhood. I must add, this capable workforce and their board of directors are NON-PAID VOLUNTEERS!

We have lived in the Powell community for 49 years but hadn’t realized how very, very important their dedicated service and professionalism is to our community. When you see a fireman, say THANK YOU. Don’t wait until after you need them.

Still living and learning,

Eric and Luanne Loloff

Powell