The Night the Mountain Fell: The Story of the Montana-Yellowstone Earthquake — John Shaqi
The Night the Mountain Fell: The Story of the Montana-Yellowstone EarthquakeChristopherson, Edmund
History
The Night the Mountain Fell: The Story of the Montana-Yellowstone Earthquake
Christopherson, Edmund
Earthquakes -- Montana; Earthquakes -- Yellowstone National Park
[Illustration: Vertical fault line.]
“But let a real emergency happen and they’re right there.
[Illustration: Real shook—the interior at the colorful Virginia City
Courthouse the morning after the quake. (Lewis—Montana Standard)]
“During that first day Ed Cottingham and I were busy pulling triggers. I
realized then that the most important thing I’d done during my seven
years as CD director was getting around and getting to know who to
phone—the people you can count on to get something done in an emergency.
You can get the heck of a lot done if you know the right guy to call.
“There isn’t a CD department that didn’t check in right away to find out
if they were needed.
“We’re especially lucky to have the U. S. Forest Service (the big slide
happened in the Beaverhead National Forest) in our area. Their
experience and constantly organized readiness to meet the threat of
forest fires right now makes them an ideal outfit for any emergency.
Forest Service firefighting squads, transport, equipment, and
information about the area are all set up to move in a matter of
minutes. They’re most adaptable to the kind of crisis the earthquake
threw at us.
“You can tell the Forest Service your problem and quit worrying.
“Another important outfit is the Montana Forestry Department, which is
set up to administer and protect the state’s forests. Its boss, Gareth
Moon, is head of the CD’s Rural Firefighting Section.
“We have a good, mobile law enforcement outfit in the Montana Highway
Patrol. The Montana Fish and Game Dept. men, in emergency, serve as an
excellent backwoods force.
“Frank Wiley, Montana Dept. of Aeronautics director and one of the real
pioneer pilots who can still fly anything from a jet to a Jenny, took
over our flying problems.”
At 8:45 A. M., as part of a CD emergency plan called “Operation
Bulldozer,” set up by the Associated General Contractors, Jack Marlowe,
secretary of the Montana Contractors’ Assn., had completed a list and
location of all heavy construction equipment in the area and reported
that all contractors were on standby in case they were needed.
The State Dept. of Health was on the ball, too. They were moving in
personnel to test water in Ennis, West Yellowstone and throughout the
quake area by 9:00 the morning after the quake.
At 9:15 word came in that the Red Cross was flying in emergency
personnel from the west coast.
Potter was thrilled by the offers of help that kept CD HQ phones busy.
General Keith R. Barney of the Army Corps of Engineers called offering
any help needed. The governors of Idaho and Wyoming and three Canadian
provinces asked if there was anything they could do. Idaho’s highway
patrol actually came up and helped keep things under control in the West
Yellowstone area.
[Illustration: CD garage and trucks.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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