Chili Fundraiser Helps Support Casper Mountain Fire Department

It cost a lot to fight the sheep herder hill fire a couple of months ago, and some volunteers wanted to help fire crews recover from the experience.

A chili meal fundraiser was held on Sunday, November 11th for members of the Casper Mountain Fire Department

Organizer Nada Snyder says the fund-raiser was also a way for the community to show fire-crews their appreciation for all their hard work while the fire was burning.

"They really put their life on the line, everytime they go out that door and their families do too. We keep forgetting about their families. I would not want to be sitting there waiting for my husband, if there was a fire like we had on the Sheep Herder."

Captain Scott Warren of the Casper Mountain Fire Department says the September fire did more than burn a portion on the east side of Casper Mountain...it also burned a good chunk of the Fire Department's finances.

"We have to pay for maintenance costs where it started in our district. We aren't able to get the full proceeds from the paid fire when it turned into a FEMA fire. So the money that we'll get back from the fire, is barely going to take care of our maintenance issues that we had with trucks, with tire issues. We had a clutch go out on a truck. This benefit that they put on for us will help a bunch in taking care of our costs."

The fund-raiser ended up bringing in about six-thousand dollars.