[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 20, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S9783]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MONTANA'S HEROES

 Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, the great America poet Robert Frost 
once said that ``good fences make good neighbors.'' In my home State of 
Montana, nothing could be further from the truth. Although our State is 
more than 600 miles wide, and nearly 300 miles long, we really are one 
big small town. And when one of our neighbors is in need, we are always 
willing to roll up our sleeves and lend a helping hand.
  During this year's fire season, many of our neighbors were in dire 
need as fires raged across our State. Nearly 1 million acres burned, an 
area larger than the State of Rhode Island. As homes, livestock, crops, 
and land burned, Montanans from one corner of the State to the other 
lost everything they had. But from this destruction and rubble, arose 
many Montana heroes, and I would like to take a moment to publicly 
recognize them.
  On the front lines were all the brave wild land firefighters. These 
men and women came from all over the country, and even some foreign 
countries, to put their lives on the line for people they had never 
met. While it is easy to be a Monday morning quarterback and criticize 
some of their techniques, it is clear that these brave men and women 
deserve nothing but praise. When I visited the fires and I looked into 
the men and women's eyes after working 12 hour days in 100 degree heat, 
as they were so exhausted they could hardly stand, I knew that they had 
given everything their all, 110 percent, to protect Montanans. These 
men and women sought no praise or recognition, and whenever they were 
congratulated they would merely say, ``We're just doing our jobs.'' But 
these men and women weren't just doing a job; they were saving lives, 
protecting property, and nothing could be more heroic. Words cannot do 
their deeds justice but on behalf of every Montanan, I would like to 
offer my deepest thanks.
  And these men and women couldn't have done their job without all the 
support from different people and agencies throughout the State. All 
the folks at the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the 
Montana Department of Emergency Services, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
the Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana State and 
local law enforcement, the local governments and county commissioners, 
volunteer fire departments, and the Northern Rockies Coordinating 
Group, which coordinated all these efforts, and their Federal partners. 
All these folks worked tirelessly to manage these blazes. Day or night 
they were constantly monitoring the fires, providing important updates, 
and making sure the people of the affected communities had every 
resource possible to deal with these disasters.
  I would also like to recognize all the people who worked behind the 
scenes, the people whose names might not appear in the news, but 
without whose effort these fires couldn't have been contained. The 
busdrivers, the local volunteers, the food service providers, the 
pilots, the list could go on and on. Without these services, the damage 
to my home State would have been much worse.
  Finally, I would like to thank all the Montanans who rolled up their 
sleeves, saw a neighbor in need, and helped out. Whether it was 
ranchers helping move livestock, community organizations and churches 
holding clothing drives, or people opening their homes to those who had 
nowhere to go, all these people truly exemplify the Montana spirit.
  The 2006 fire season will go down in history as one of worst in our 
State's history. Yet it will also go down as a time when neighbors 
helped neighbors, when people traveled hundreds of miles to lend a hand 
to a friend. It will go down as a time of heroes.

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