Their home, still standing and unscathed three miles up Grooms Road, is surrounded by the blackened landscape left by a wall of the Black Cat's wind-driven flames last week.
As of Friday morning, 15 Type I and II ground crews, 28 engines, seven dozers, 12 water tenders and a handful of aerial resources were battling the 11,515-acre fire, according to information officer Jennifer Plyler.
After more than a week of anxious waiting in Missoula at Jim's father's house, they were relieved to find the home they've been living in for slightly more than two years practically untouched.
A few embers thrown by the fire started small spot fires near the Marshall's house, one of which made it all the way up to the incombustible stone base of their home.
“If that had been wood, it would have been a bad deal,” Jim said.
The only damage chalked up to the blaze, in fact, was a small burn mark on the porch and a few singed pieces of furniture.
The Marshalls weren't lucky, though. They were prepared.
The couple started thinning the trees on their property before they even started building the house in 2004.
Wildfire was on their mind when they started building the home as well.
Besides a few large lumber beams and supports on the porch, the exterior of the home is nearly inflammable.
The siding is a fire-resistant, concrete-based faux wood called HardiePlank and the roof is sheet metal.
“Snow slides off of it in the winter and fire doesn't burn it in the summer,” Jim said.
Cindy Crittendon, a fire prevention specialist with the Frenchtown Rural Fire District, said the Marshalls' efforts are a great example of what homeowners can do to keep flames at bay.
“The time to prepare for wildfire is not when it hits,” she said.
Six years ago, the Frenchtown fire district started a program to help homeowners prepare for the worst.
Sending crews out with chain saws, chippers and weed-eaters, the fire department helped dozens of families get their homes ready for wildfire season.
Before the Black Cat fire blew up, Frenchtown crews had worked on 30 homes.
While the service is not free, last week showed that it can more than pay off.
Since the program started, the fire department has given varying levels of financial support to homeowners who use the service.
In its first years, $100 grants were given to homeowners, according to Crittendon. This year, funding allowed the department to pay for half of whatever work the Frenchtown crews do.
The Marshalls took advantage of the program to get their fire mitigation efforts off the ground.
When all was said and done, several hundred trees had been cut down, brush had been cleared, and the trees that remained were limbed up to prevent flames from climbing into the crowns.
According to Jim, he harvested enough trees for about 20,000 board feet of lumber.
The 40 acres of untreated land to the west of the Marshalls' home are a testament to the efficacy of the mitigation efforts.
While most of the neighboring land is now a post-fire moonscape, the Marshalls' lawn is bright green and tall, and unsinged pines still stand proudly on their property.
According to Crittendon, anyone living inside the Frenchtown district can participate in the program.
“There are no qualifications,” Crittendon said. “I come and look at the properties and get the crews out there.”
For homeowners in need of expertise but not the labor, Crittendon said she can advise homeowners on what to do on their own.
Booked for the rest of this year, Crittendon said she can start taking reservations for next year.
Interested homeowners can reach Crittendon at 626-5791.
Reporter Murphy Woodhouse is an intern at the Missoulian. He can be reached at 523-5241.
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