Residents living in a rural subdivision northwest of Whitefish have struggled to obtain homeowners' insurance. 

Located 14 miles from the nearest fire station, property owners in the 1,400-acre gated community, The Homestead, found their insurance policies canceled or faced substantial increases in premiums.  

Looking for a solution, the community, along with surrounding neighbors who joined the effort, petitioned Flathead County to create the Star Meadows Fire District, which was approved by county commissioners Dec. 18.  

Densely populated trees increase the risk of wildfire, and primary insurance companies, such as Allstate, State Farm and Progressive, require homes to be within 5 miles of a fire department to qualify for a homeowners' insurance policy, according to Daniel Yeh, who serves as fire chief for The Homestead. Those who shopped for coverage through a secondary insurance market were given premiums that were 10 times more expensive. 

“I have heard of premiums in the $50-60,000 range per year,” Yeh said. “One of the residents that I was speaking to had their insurance canceled.” 

Previously part of the rural Whitefish Fire Service Area, the new district spans 1,600 acres to the west of U.S. 93. The district straddles the northern section of Farm to Market Road, with the Stillwater River marking the eastern boundary.  

Aside from the financial impact, there were also concerns with emergency response times.  

Two weeks ago, a construction worker was seriously injured while working on one of the residential lots in The Homestead subdivision, Yeh said. It took emergency services 45 minutes to reach him after 911 was called.  

“In a life-threatening situation, that is really not an ideal situation,” he said.  

Response times could be further delayed if the call is transferred to a neighboring fire station, Yeh said, easily taking up to an hour and a half.  

“We're an official district. We can be connected with the 911 system,” Yeh said. 

During a public hearing on Tuesday before commissioners, residents expressed gratitude toward the effort to create a rural fire district.  

“We are deeply grateful for The Homestead’s efforts to include neighbors outside of their subdivision,” said Julie Rommel, who lives off Buckskin Run. “That will allow all of us to improve our insurability, as well as adding much needed firefighting resources to the valley.” 

PLANNING FOR a rural fire district materialized in July, when Yeh was hired by Still Water Mountain Ranch, LLC, the main developer of The Homestead, to run a fire station.  

The initial plan was to create a private fire station for the community located in a heavily wooded area northeast of Whitefish, off Farm to Market Road near U.S. 93., Yeh said, until homeowners in adjacent neighborhoods asked if they would benefit from the services.  

“That, to make a long story short, caused us to pivot and look into this rural fire district,” Yeh said. “We're no longer, at this point, focused on just the community, the private community. We're looking at a whole community outside of that.” 

A meeting held on Sept. 11 announced a petition for the proposed rural fire district. Within a month, the petition gathered signatures from 75% of the local property owners, Yeh said.  

A five-member board of trustees to govern the fire district will be appointed by county commissioners, each serving staggered terms, until reelected by voters. A team of fire personnel will be trained, Yeh said, and the department will invest in radios to receive 911 calls and communicate with other fire departments.  

The fire station is already built and was mostly paid for by the developers. Now that it’s an official rural district, taxpayers will fund operations through a mill levy, which will be determined by the new fire district board.  

“We're still in the building stages. The resolution and formalization of a new fire district is so significant, because it allows us now to be a recognized governmental entity,” Yeh said. “We now can establish a presence within the emergency system.” 

Reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at 758-4439 or [email protected].