Extinguishing a fire in the Beaver area is difficult. There are no fire hydrants, and the river level is highly variable. The Holiday Island Fire Department is unable to take heavy fire vehicles across the weight-limited “Little Golden Gate Bridge.”

The small fire station in Beaver is cramped for space and houses only a small tanker and a fire engine. The nearest backup fire department is on Highway 62 in Inspiration Point. Truly, putting out a large fire has been problematic until now.

This spring the City of Beaver completed a yearlong project designed to improve fire suppression in their community. Former Mayor Lynn Going spearheaded the multistep processes starting in 2023. The town used funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and rehabilitated the little village’s municipal well.

The next step was the installation of a 5,000-gallon water tank up the hill from the well. The tank is kept full by the well’s pump. The tank gravity feeds a small fire hydrant style connection on Palisade Street next to the Beaver Post Office. Fire department tankers are able to refill at the hydrant and take the large loads of water back to the fire scene to supply the fire engines.

The project was completed this spring under the guidance of current Beaver mayor Scott Leach. The work was performed by Beaver Lake Pump Service. The total cost of the well and pump upgrade, tank and fire hydrant totaled $23,000. When the ARPA funds ran short the City of Beaver put in $2,000 from its own tiny budget to see the task completed.

The City of Beaver and the Holiday Island Rural Fire District are working on the next project already. Money from both groups is being used to add to the tiny Beaver fire station. The plans are to house an additional fire department tanker truck in the new addition.

Beaver City Council member Ralph Goodman (left) and Mayor Scott Leach pose proudly after the first successful test of the new fire department water supply system in Beaver.