"There needs to be a fire department to protect the people and property of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Creation of firefighting squads should happen as soon as possible, as soon as they can be equipped and personnel can be trained.

It seems ironic that Standing Rock, along with other reservations, has produced so many skilled smokejumpers who have fought wildfires all over the country, while their own relatives' dwellings back at home went virtually unprotected from being burned.

There are firefighters employed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs who work on the reservation, but policy does not allow them to take on fires that break out in private structures. Their purpose is to protect government structures and natural resources such as grasslands."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Fire dept. needed (The Bismarck Tribune 6/29)

Earlier Story:
Standing Rock reservation trying to find ways to fight fires (AP 6/24)