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Gusty winds, dry brush fuel Swanson Loop fire on Rez
By Sara Broncho
Sho-Ban News
FORT HALL — The Swanson Loop fire burned on Sunday, April 13 that was started by a tribal cattleman doing a controlled burn in the area.
With the combination of dense fuel and gusty winds the fire became unmanageable and began to burn out of control catching onto the Bench area and spreading to the Bottoms along Clear Creek.
Reggie Thorpe, Emergency Management Response Manager, said the Fort Hall Fire Department responded after a call for assistance was made around 3 p.m.
“Burning was slow, but moving at a steady rate.” “Towards the end of the day the fire started settling down,” he continued and hand crews were assigned to monitor the area over night.
The HeTO/Cultural Resources personnel were notified so they can assess the area to make plans to do a cultural resources survey after the fire was contained. Willie Preacher, Tribal DOE Director and Joetta Buckhouse, archaeologist, reported to the scene.
On Monday morning, Preacher, Buckhouse, LaRae Buckskin and Carolyn Smith (Cultural Resources staff) attended a briefing with the Incident Command team. The staff advised the group of the sensitivity of the area. The next day winds picked up and crews made sure the fire was unable to spread by putting out flare-ups. Cedar trees, some old fencing, a power line that arched and the natural foliage was burned, but, they had been concerned about the four residences in the area and the Cedar Cemetery. “ There was no property damage, no one was hurt,” confirmed Thorpe. Total land perimeter was 200 acres that burned black. The fire came close to the cemetery but was subdued before it could reach across the road although the landscape was dotted with black on the west side. He added that Hal Hayball had assisted with making a map of the area for official fire use. HeTo/Cultural Resources Coordinator Smith and Buckskin, research assistant revisited the fire on Tuesday to confirm a possible site but it was deemed insignificant. There is a lot of history of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes on the reservation and on aboriginal lands and disruption of any cultural sites is a loss. Smith and Buckskin advise that this area should remain undisturbed and protected.
Their initial investigation was vital before any added traffic to the area. The cat lines necessary to contain the fire does considerable amount of ground disturbance and the HeTO/Cultural Resources staff are regularly called out to survey and monitor the areas. On Sunday night one fire vehicle got stuck going down a slope and a dozer was utilized to free the vehicle. The area was rehabbed the next day so that the cat line wouldn’t be used as a possible road for other vehicle in the future. The HeTO/Cultural Resources staff will do a pedestrian survey of the cedar areas within a couple of weeks and document the survey that is a common practice on all fires on the reservation. Val Navo, Fort Hall Fire Department Chief, said the Fire personnel and response was “great” aside from the high winds, rough terrain and soggy Bottoms area they had to deal with.
Navo said in addition to the Fort Hall Fire Department, Chubbuck, Pocatello and the Bureau of Land Management crews responded. Tribal Facilities Management staff also assisted. A total of 90 people were on the Swanson Loop fire.
Thorpe wants to remind people doing controlled burns that they should notify the fire department and/or police and check the weather before hand. The winds should not be more than ten miles per hour and they should make sure there is a clearing in the area.
Gang violence crush family's dreams
By Roselynn Wahtomy
Sho-Ban News
Busted dreams
FORT HALL – In the darkness silhouettes crept surrounding the 2004 Ford pickup parked out front. Bats swung freely as the shatter of glass cut through the silence on D Street.
It was after 10 p.m. on Sunday, April 13 when chaos erupted outside the residence of Anna Townsend.
Anna’s granddaughter, Zandra, was smoking a cigarette when she saw the vandals burst into action. Angry, she began yelling at them. They shouted back at her uttering obscenities and gang slang. A red bandana-wearing male began to approach her. She ran inside and slammed the door.
Anna, Zandra, and two young children, waited inside uncertain of what to expect next. The bustling of footsteps circled the exterior of the home.
Loud banging, indistinct hollering, and breaking glass echoed through the house. They were surrounded.
A bottle crashed through the living room window bringing terror to the hearts of those trapped inside. Unsure of whether what they just witnessed was a gunshot, Zandra immediately grasped for her 2-year-old daughter, Desirae, who was standing frozen in place beneath the window. At the same time Anna fell to the floor reaching for her 5-year-old grandson Dominic who was playing at the computer.
All four of them dashed for the bathroom where they hid as thousands of horrifying scenarios invaded their mind. They embraced each other tightly unsure if the people would leave, unsure if they would break into the house to seek them out. The grandmother and granddaughter tried their best to remain calm to comfort the children as they sobbed in their arms obviously shaken by the nightmare come true. “Bad man,” whimpered Dominic.
The delinquents were about six minutes into their vandalizing spree when they stopped and raced to a car parked down the street speeding off. Zandra made repeated calls to the Fort Hall Police Department who arrived to the scene 20 minutes later.
It’s been only four weeks since Anna moved her family from Pocatello to Fort Hall. Before that Anna resided in Florida but longed to be home surrounded by her Shoshone-Bannock people. The place she believed she would always feel the safest. Her hopes for a peaceful new start are now as broken as the windows surrounding her home.
Damaged innocence When the Sho-Ban News visited the Townsend place on the Wednesday following the incident the main front window was completely missing, along with three of the back windows and a screen door. Her only vehicle is now unfit for the road. Total damage is estimated at upwards of $3000. The expense Anna has no money for since applying most of her finances towards her move. Thankfully Community Access will help in providing assistance to replace the windows in the house. Though more upsetting for Anna is to witness the shock that the children have endured.
Dominic held up his hands examining them closely in the sunlight, “I think there’s glass in there. See it Grandma?”
“Mine too,” said Desirae standing next to her brother in their front yard where shards of glass still shimmer on the ground.
Both Anna and Zandra have several scratches and cuts on their arms and hands. Anna was wearing sandals and has cuts on her feet as well.
“They could have hurt us really bad. An experience like this could really traumatize a person, especially a child,” said Anna. “And I’m a senior citizen. My heart was beating really fast. I could have had a heart attack.” Act of retaliation This isn’t the first time gangs have disrupted the peace on the Fort Hall Townsite. Anna had identified the terrorists as adult gang members some of whom either reside or have family living in the Townsite community.
In fact, that same day an a few known gang members were squabbling with Anna’s grandson. It’s alleged that one of the gang members had one of their family members call the FHPD to have her grandson taken into custody.
Other reports of gang activity are visualized through graffiti on homes and vehicles. Even at the homes of elders where tires have reportedly been slashed.
Enough is enough Anna has several questions that remain unanswered. Why did they do that?
Why were they attacking me? What do they expect to gain from attacking a household of only women?
Anna explained she’s heard that it’s a pattern for attacks like these to happen late at night or when people are asleep, because that’s when they are most defenseless.
“This is totally uncalled for and is a threat to the Fort Hall Townsite residents. Tribal members living in the Townsite shouldn’t have to live in fear, threatened and be terrorized.” She wants people to be aware of incidents like this and for them to call the police immediately if they notice any suspicious activity. “They’re here in the community. I’ve heard about it. I just didn’t think something like this would happen to us. This community should be more protected. This could have happened to anyone,” Townsend concluded.
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