When the emergency sirens sounded in Lame Deer, Jacklyn Littlebird knew it was time for her, her adult children and her 21 grandkids and great-grandkids to get out quickly. Finding a spot to go with a group that large was the hard part.

“I saw the fire from my home – and actually it was in four directions all around Lame Deer. Lame Deer is in a gully, so I got freaked out,” she said. “I knew if we didn’t leave and something happens it’s going to be a hard time.”

Driven by high heat and wind, the Richard Spring and the Lame Deer wildfires were converging on the southeastern Montana community and neighboring towns.

Unable to find motel rooms, the Littlebird family packed up some camping gear and planned to head to a campground. But on their way out of town, they heard news that the Crow Nation, supported by the Red Cross, had opened an evacuation shelter at a gym in Crow Agency. That’s where they headed, their home for the next week.

“They helped us … they saved us,” Jacklyn said.  “They treated us good, and I appreciate everything. We had showers and bathrooms. I just felt so much better because that fire was bad. I just thank God that I didn’t have to worry about anything.”

With their children taken care of, Jacklyn’s four adult children were able to return to Lame Deer and pitch in where they could, to help their community. Jacklyn’s daughter helps run the gas station there, and she could now direct her attention to keeping the generators running and helping people get fuel so they could get out of town.

“They knew we were safe so they were able to focus on their jobs 100 percent,” Jacklyn said.

Her grandkids love basketball so the fact the shelter was in a gym was a godsend, Jacklyn said. Her grandkids range in age from 1 to 20.

“I really thank the Lord because three basketballs kept them occupied the whole time,” she said. “When we first got there, I told them we need to get to bed because starting tomorrow we have basketball camp. And they’re all like ‘Yay!’

Besides giving the Littlebird family a safe place to stay, the Crow Nation and the Red Cross also provided them information about the fire and air quality and served three meals a day.

“I kept my family together, and everything we needed to get us through the day was taken care of,” she said. “I was ready to prepare my own meals and whatever I needed to do, but they came along and helped.”

Over the course of a week, the Red Cross and its Crow and Northern Cheyenne partners provided 358 overnight stays at shelters in Crow Agency and Busby and also served 3,200 meals and snacks. Two Red Cross emergency response vehicles helped deliver meals from Billings, and more than 30 Red Cross volunteers and staff helped provide comfort and care to those displaced by the two wildfires.

“Your heart just bleeds for them because they’re taken out of their homes and interacting with people they don’t know,” Red Cross volunteer disaster responder Sue Hawthorne said. “It was a sense of relief when they realized we were there to help them.”

A Red Crosser since 2013, Sue said she couldn’t overstate how much the Crow Nation did to help those families chased from their homes by the flames and the steps they took to keep them safe from COVID through temperature checks, mask use and access to hand sanitizer.

“The care of the elders was top priority at that shelter,” she said. “I felt honored to see how they took such great care of their community.”

With the evacuations lifted, Jacklyn’s 21 grandkids and great-grandchildren are now back home and preparing for the start of the school year.

“I just want to thank the Red Cross for being there for the people,” she said. “They sure helped me and my family out.”

BECOME A RED CROSS DISASTER RESPONDER

The Red Cross needs volunteers to support disaster shelters just like those in Crow Agency and Busby. Volunteers will help with reception, registration, food distribution, sheltering, information collection and other vital tasks.

If you’re interested, please send an email to IDMT.Recruiting@redcross.org or call 406-493-8778.