Team Rubicon: Volunteers help clear 32,000 cubic feet of storm debris in Missoula (2024)

The day after the July 24 violent windstorm that swept through Missoula and surrounding areas and sent thousands of trees and limbs crashing down, a "quick reaction force" of volunteers began lending a helping hand.

And still, over two weeks later, the volunteers from Team Rubicon are hard at work removing debris from yards, streets and alleys in town.

Team Rubicon is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that sends volunteers, many of whom are military veterans or first responders, all over the United States and the world to assist in disaster recovery efforts.

They don't just show up without an invitation. They were contacted by the Missoula County Office of Emergency Management to assist after the storm.

In all, they had 73 total volunteers work in Missoula since the storm and they've removed 32,000 cubic feet of debris from people's yards and public areas free of charge.

They've been sleeping at Sentinel High School on cots donated by the American Red Cross and eating meals donated by local businesses and the Salvation Army, to go along with meals paid for by Team Rubicon. But none of the volunteers are paid for their hard work in the sweltering summer heat.

For military veterans like Zac Taylor of Bozeman, it's all about "selfless service."

"100% selfless service," he said. "It gives us task and purpose."

He said that many military veterans struggle with mental health issues after they return from their service, so Team Rubicon provides them with a social network and a place to give back to the community.

With huge trees still laying in streets and backyards all over town, their help was appreciated by many members of the community. Amberleigh Hammond of Missoula was one of the residents who was assisted. She's going on 16 days without power because trees took down the lines to her house.

"I'm so grateful for team Rubicon," she said. "I had to leave town for my grandparents' funeral the day after the storm and I couldn't do anything from two states away. My neighbors helped as much as they could but dragging all the limbs and stumps to the front yard was the final step I needed help with to clear the backyard to get the electrician in and restore power."

She said that Team Rubicon showed up, inspected the damage and a team of "happy, smiling volunteers showed up a day later and worked their tails off to clear the debris."

"I was so inspired by the organization that I signed up that night to be a Greyshirt volunteer," she said, referring to the organization's nickname for volunteers. "I'm an EMT and I volunteer often. I would typically be the one volunteering to help others but I'm so thankful that someone was there to help me."

Sarah Puerner, the incident commander for the team in Missoula, said the organization consists of about 70% veterans and the rest are what are called "kick-ass civilians."

Many of the volunteers in Missoula are from Montana, but quite a few are from around the country. Team Rubicon pays for their travel and meals, so they've had to sleep in strange places like leaky church buildings in the Bahamas. The organization was founded in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and now they have 180,000 volunteers nationwide.

Puerner said Sentinel High School was a nice headquarters for the two weeks.

"We've slept in worse places, trust me," she explained.

Anne Marie Scott, who spent 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and 10 years with Team Rubicon, was one of the volunteers in Missoula helping out. She lives in the Bitterroot Valley, so she didn't have to come too far.

"I love the idea of being able to help other veterans re-acclimatize themselves," she said. "A lot of them come back with moral injuries. And by helping others they can kind of recover. That's my primary purpose. I had a very easy, relatively easy career. So I like the fact that I can help others and I can help my fellow veterans by helping others."