(The following report appeared on the Great Falls Tribune website on July 31.)
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — BNSF Railway has offered a special water train to firefighters battling the Skyland fire along Highway 2 south of Glacier National Park, according to railway spokesman Gus Melonas.
The BNSF track roughly parallels the highway and is one of the railway’s most heavily used sections. Melonas said 40 freight trails and two Amtrak trains cross that section of track each day
So BNSF has volunteered to fill three tanker cars with 40,000 gallons of water that it will pump into a portable bladder for helicopter pilots to fill their buckets. “We’re ready and willing to do whatever it takes to help protect Glacier National Park,” said Melonas.