Assistant fire chief to start new adventure
<p>Kyle and Whitney Johnson share a conversation with Plains Volunteer Fire Department Chief Joe Sheppard at the fire department Christmas party.</p>
PLAINS – Forester and Assistant Fire Chief Kyle Johnson will soon be leaving the small town he has called home for the past 10 years. A job offer as a forester with the Bureau of Land Management is taking him to Coos Bay, Oregon.
He and wife Whitney are excited to embark on this new life journey.
Although the Johnsons have lived in Plains for the past decade, they are both originally from the west coast. Kyle is native to northern California and Whitney is from Oregon. They are returning home and reuniting with family.
“Part of the reason we are going to Oregon is to be closer to both of our families,” Johnson said. “We tried to convince them to move up to Montana but they did not go for it.”
Montana is actually where Kyle and his wife met. They were both attending forestry school in Missoula. From there they came to Plains where they have made true friends and a surrogate family.
“I am going to miss our friends the most, the people who have been our family away from family,” Johnson said.
Johnson sums up the move as “bittersweet” because of the adventure he is looking forward to having, and the great friends he is going to miss. But it is not goodbye forever because he and his wife intend to visit as much as possible.
“We are definitely going to try and come back and go to some Griz games,” Johnson said. “We will also come back for the Forester’s Ball at the university every once in a while.”
Other than the Grizzly games and the people, Johnson said he is also going to miss the Rocky Mountains and the unique charm of living in a town with no traffic lights.
Johnson said it will not be easy to leave Montana because it has become a part of him. Moving to Oregon will be an adjustment.
“Coos Bay is an ocean-front community so it is going to be very different and it will take some getting used to…and all the rain,” Johnson said.
Although the west coast will vary greatly from the valley, there will be new things to enjoy.
“I am looking forward to doing some ocean fishing and some crabbing…the fresh seafood,” Johnson said.
As a forester, Johnson is eager to do the job in a new environment.
“I am excited to learn a new area and getting the chance to work with the big trees over there,” he said.
Johnson will be missed by both the foresters and the fire department. They have shown him nothing but encouragement.
“Everyone has been really supportive and they are wishing me well,” Johnson said. “They are a good bunch of guys and I’m sure they will do a good job.”
In preparation for the big move, the Johnsons will be having a sale in the next couple weeks. Fortunately, they have already found good homes for their horse and chickens but there are still other things to go.
Johnson said he will miss Plains but mostly he will miss the people. Despite that, he and his wife are excited to embark on this journey.
“We really have felt at home here and have really appreciated everyone in the community,” he said. “We will miss folks but we are excited about starting this new adventure.”