Comanche Nation Offers Firewood for Winter Season

Comanche Nation Emergency Management is offering a firewood service to elders and the community until the end of the winter months.

Those needing firewood should call the Emergency Management hotline and check for social media updates.

Fire Chief Kyle Tahpay said Emergency Management has been doing it for several years and became steady after purchasing log splitters. The wood is from old tree limbs they cut down throughout the year, usually from working with Reality. He said those who contact will receive about a month’s supply of firewood for the cold season.

“Some of the houses still have wood burning stoves, so that's who we try to attack that with our maps and getting all up to date with everything so we can actually reach out to the ones actually in need,” Tahpay said. “But mainly, our focus is on the elders. But during winter season…it gets cold out there, so…you reach out to whoever. Now, in a disaster, it would be our neighbors, you know, non-tribal members. If they in need of firewood, we'll see what we can do to reach out and make sure they get it.”

He said they have received phone calls from outside the state, including someone from Colorado.

“She actually reached out to us through the hotline and got hold of got hold of us, and so the next day we've done what we could do…looked up for local places in that town to see if there's any place that has firewood,” Tahpay said. “And luckily, we did find one, and so we will be getting some delivered to her.”

He also said to contact the departments if low-hanging limbs are above a house or road.

According to Grasshopper Director and Emergency Management Chief Section Officer Marshall Niedo, the Comanche Nation Grasshoppers program also helps with Emergency Management.

“We come out, we loaded generators in the back of our trucks they got locks on them, we got ice melt, and you know, just stuff like that, and just if we get dispatched somewhere somebody that don't have lights will help them with the generator,” he said. “Well, if they have medical equipment, you know, like breathing machines, oxygen or something like that and…if it's slick and they need to get out in it, then we'll put ice melt down on handicap ramps and stuff like that, and mainly we whatever Emergency Management dispatches is out to do that's what we'll go take care of.”

Niedo said the program is also working on winter work for the first time and supports about 400 clients.

“We go around each client on the grasshopper program will get a service one time for the winter months of tree trimming, you know, to be proactive against winter storms like tree branches breaking and falling on their houses or, you know, old trees that's about to fall over,” he said. “We'll take them out and then we reciprocate the wood by helping Emergency Management take out wood to people that the elders or somebody that don't have heat to have wood burning stoves or fireplaces to heat their homes with.”

Anyone needing assistance can call Emergency Management at 580-919-1098, and the fire department can be reached at 580-492-3600.