Live Q & A Event: AARP Montana Holds Tele Town Hall to answer your questions about Wildfire Preparedness

With the Wildfire Season Soon Upon Us, Now is the Time to Reduce Risk

Hundreds of AARP members across the state will have the opportunity to participate in a live telephone town hall event with an expert panel on wildfire readiness. Dirk Johnson, Montana State Fire Marshal will join AARP Montana for a statewide live event on Tuesday, June 21 at 10 a.m. to discuss safety measures for wildfire season.

Most of Montana is currently in an extreme, severe or exceptional drought according to U.S. Drought Monitor, a multi-agency partnership that coordinates drought monitoring and forecasting.

“Given Montana’s overall drought situation, we are likely in store for a bad fire season,” said Tim Summers, AARP Montana State Director. “Wildfires can occur at any time throughout the year, but the potential is always higher in Montana during the hot dry summer months. Now is the time to prepare for wildfire season, once a disaster happens, the time to prepare is gone. We’re pleased to offer this forum to discuss how Montanans can better prepare for wildfire season.”

AARP will call its members in Montana to invite them to participate in the tele town hall.  Members interested in participating will only need to hold on the line to be placed into the live event. 

“This is a live forum and participants are encouraged to join the call and hear directly from the experts on wildfire safety and preparedness. Folks can also pose their questions to the panel,” said Summers. “This important call is available for anyone regardless of whether they are an AARP member or not. Because this telephone town hall is interactive, we encourage people to come prepared with questions that they might have.”

On Tuesday, June 21 AARP Montana will begin calling out to Montana members for this tele-town hall around 10:00 a.m.

There are three additional ways to participate in the live event:

• Dialing toll-free 855-962-1531 at the time of the call, which is 10 am on Tuesday, June 21, 2022.
• Registering to be called in advance here at this link >>
• Streaming live at facebook.com/AARPMontana
  

Those unable to join the live event on June 21, can listen to the recorded call on AARP Montana’s Facebook page or here: https://vekeo.com/aarpmontana.

AARP has long been educating individuals and families about emergency preparedness and is ready to help when disaster strikes. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and AARP recently announced an agreement that will expand outreach around emergency preparedness for millions of Americans. 

Download a wildfire preparedness factsheet from AARP Montana here>>

More information from AARP on emergency preparedness can be found at: www.aarp.org/createthegood (click on "How-To Guides" then scroll down to Operation Emergency Prepare). 

Additional resources are available at:  www.ready.gov, www.fema.org and www.firewise.org.

WHAT: Live Tele Town Hall Event about Wildfire Preparedness
WHO:
🔸 Dirk Johnson, Montana State Fire Marshal
🔸Troy Shockley, Moderator
🔸 Tim Summers, Host, AARP Montana State Director     
🔸 AARP Members and the 50+ across Montana are invited to participate
WHEN: Tuesday, June 21, 2022 10:00 - 11:00 a.m., Mountain Time    
HOW: How to participate: On Tuesday, June 21, AARP Montana will begin calling out to Montana members for this tele-town hall around 10:00 a.m.
Additional ways to participate in the live event:
◾ Dialing toll-free 855-962-1531 at the time of the call, which is 10 am on Tuesday, June 21, 2022.
◾ Registering to be called in advance here >>
◾ Streaming live at facebook.com/AARPMontana

Those unable to join the live event on June 21, can listen to the recorded call on AARP Montana’s Facebook page or here: vekeo.com/aarpmontana.