Montana Firefighters Rescue More Than Just Cats from Trees

When it comes to being a firefighter, you never know when you will be called to rescue someone or even someone's cat. In the case of the following story, firefighters were called to rescue something much larger than a small cat.

It seems like a cliche for firefighters being called to rescue a cat stuck in a tree. But, it is all part of an honest day's work. You would think that the dog days of summer would be a firefighter's busiest days of the year, especially with the hot and dry temperatures we have been experiencing over the last few weeks. All eyes are on the fire danger level outside each fire station. But, in the town of Anaconda, all eyes were on the lookout for a neighborhood visitor.

Anaconda Firefighters were called in to aid the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks in relocating a bear that had wandered into a neighborhood park. As bears do, they found the bear making itself at home high in one of the park's trees. The fire department used one of their ladder trucks to get up high enough for an FWP biologist to tranquilize the bear easily.

According to the Anaconda Fire Department's social media page

We have all heard jokes about Firefighters rescuing cats from trees .....how about bears. You Anaconda Fire Department assisted the Anaconda Police Department and Montana Fish Wildlife and parks this morning in relocating a black bear who decided to wander into Washoe park. The bear was tranquilized and the sleeping giant was gently lowered via rope system.

Things appear to have gone much smoother than the now infamous "bear rescue" in Missoula in 2003. A clip that quickly went viral on the internet long before the popularity of social media.

Even 20 years later, the Missoula Trampoline Bear cracks me up!