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County approves letter of intent to pursue state approval for two fire‑suppression ponds
Summary
Custer County commissioners authorized a letter of intent to the state for two candidate fire‑suppression ponds (referred to in the transcript as 'kettle cam' and 'Eastcliff') to qualify them for helicopter water‑dipping and formal suppression‑pond status under the state's program.
The Custer County Board voted Nov. 19 to sign and submit a letter of intent to the state to pursue formal designation of two candidate fire‑suppression ponds.
Chair Bill Camden described the two ponds discussed in the application as "Kettle Cam" (already used informally for helicopter dipping) and Eastcliff; county staff said both sites meet the application’s verbal criteria and that the letter of intent would notify the state and give the county a year to complete any needed work.
Commissioners discussed whether pond owners would be required to maintain water levels; staff said many suppression ponds are spring‑fed or existing features and the current application process does not uniformly require a maintenance covenant for pre‑existing ponds, though water‑rights and adjudication issues could arise for newly created ponds.
A motion to approve and sign the letter of intent was made and seconded on the record; the board approved the motion by voice vote. Staff said the county will continue to work with the state and that, if denied, the county could pursue smaller scale measures on a reduced scope.
The action is intended to improve wildfire‑suppression capability by ensuring there are qualified water sources where helicopters can dip, shortening response time for aerial firefighting capability.
