Pure Country Quilts - Firestorm 2000

Parched forests caused by drought, years of fire suppression, human carelessness, and pending lightning storms set the stage for one of the worst fire seasons in nearly 100 years in the United States during the summer of 2000. Western Montana’s Bitterroot Valley was particularly hard hit as more than 350,000 acres burned, along with 71 residences and 170 other structures. More than 10,000 people supported fire-fighting efforts in the Bitterroot Valley. Fire fighters from forty-nine states and three foreign countries – Canada, Australia, and New Zealand – joined local personnel in the effort to suppress the many large blazes.

The idea for a ‘fire quilt’ to create a permanent legacy recognizing those who contributed to the suppression effort was conceived by workers in the Bitterroot fire camps. Individuals and groups created 292 quilt blocks on backgrounds of red, yellow, and green, which were subsequently put together, along with approximately 50 photographs, to create what would ultimately become not one fire quilt, but twelve Bitterroot Fire Quilts.

Several thousand people contributed to the creation of these quilts starting with those people in the fire camps, and ending with the small group of quilters who worked to set the blocks into the resulting quilts. These quilts are a tribute to those who lost their homes and possessions, to the fire personnel who came from across the globe, and to the people of Montana who came together in a time of crisis to assist and support one another.

The quilts will ‘tour’ quilt shows and special exhibits for the next couple of years, after which a decision will be made as to a permanent home for them.

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