Glacier National Park Reynold’s Creek Wildfire – What to do with Lodge Refugees?!

It’s been an eventful week, so it feels like much more time than that has passed!

The fire is still very close to our Lodge so as of yet we can’t return. A few supply trips were allowed back in for the dorm-dwellers to retrieve some belongings. Some staff had been out hiking and had only the clothes on their backs and maybe the contents of a backpack.

The company made hurried trips to Walmart and purchased tents of all sizes and kinds and some other supplies.

A refugee “Tent City” has been pitched in this campground on the west side of the park, I put my little camper right across from the tenters. When I pulled in here, I saw it was all ‘my group’ and I was glad to see them! Local news crews have been out here, interviewing some of the staff.

It’s been an experience. Some of them have never been camping before, especially some of the international staff! Can you imagine – suddenly evacuated out of their dorms, driven 120 miles away and tossed into a tent – most of them have been pretty good sports about the whole thing. They’ve sat out there and played their guitars, I’ve called it “Woodstock”.

The vast majority of the staff have now been scattered and relocated to different lodges in the park. They were pretty sad about having our group dispersed! Some chose to leave, a few went down to Yellowstone. We had all just began to settle in to our Lodge pretty well when the fire occurred.

My current location (at this west-side campground) is much closer to civilization. I have a cell signal here! There’s a real, non over-charging grocery store nearby!

I had made the decision to purchase a tiny 1.7 cu ft fridge for the Scamp. I couldn’t stand one more packet of Easy Mac. I had the fridge shipped in and had happened to pick it up the afternoon we were evacuated from the Lodge.

Upon returning to civilization, I RUSHED to the grocery store to get real food that I didn’t have to ‘Just Add Water!” to! Roast beef lunch meat! Hot dogs! REAL HALF & HALF! PLUS a phone signal! Wow! I even stopped and got a cheeseburger! I nearly wept with joy.

I’m temporarily working another facility right now, like the rest.

I have no idea of the extent of damage to our facilities. They are still standing. The fire, however, is quite close to the location yet.

I’m pretty tired so I’ll close this post for now and update with things when I have them!