Neighbors are helping neighbors in Hamilton as the 35-hundred acre Roaring Lion fire rages southwest of town.
Jenny Erickson was overseeing the Red Cross shelter at The River Church in Hamilton Monday afternoon.
"We had three that actually stayed overnight, two of which will be here again tonight. We have, I don’t know, probably another 10 or so that have already told us today, we’ll probably be back to stay in the shelter tonight."
Erickson says, so far, donations have kept up with demand from people in need.
"We’ve got a pretty good match right now. Probably now, thought, if people still want to do something to help, it would be better if they made a monetary donation to the Red Cross."
The shelter itself can’t take monetary donations, so Erickson suggests contributing online or via mail.
People are also looking out for each others’ livestock. The Ravalli County Fairgrounds is open for people who need a place to put their animals. Monday afternoon there were a couple of dozen horses there, and at least one pig.
I ran into Lisa Johnson, who drove in from Corvallis and was tending to some horses.
"I was checking down here at the fairgrounds to make sure that everyone was OK and if they needed anything, and (some people) were just here and they wanted to get back to their house and get another load out of their livestock and tack, and I told them I’d stop back and turn the water off for them," she said.
Lots of donations are also reaching the firefighters who are streaming into Hamilton.
A fire camp is being established at Hamilton High School.
