If you have a heart attack at the Johnston Ridge Observatory near Mount St. Helens, emergency crews still will respond — for now.

Citing on-going progress with the three large landowners, fire officials extended Saturday’s deadline for a service contract for emergency medical response east of Kid Valley on Spirit Lake Memorial Highway. Without the extension, all Cowlitz County fire districts had pledged to cut off service to the area starting at 12:01 Saturday morning.

Fire officials announced the deadline in May, saying service would stop if a contract wasn’t reached with the U.S. Forest Service, Cowlitz County and Weyerhaeuser Co. The districts — primarily District 6 in Castle Rock and District 3 in Toutle — said they could no longer afford to leave their taxpayer-funded districts to cover the other areas.

Friday, though, fire officials said they’ll set a new deadline later this month because negotiations with the landowners are progressing.

“We’ve engaged in satisfactory progress, so we decided to extend the deadline while the entities are still processing the agreement,” said Eric Koreis, chief of Fire District 6. “We thought it was in the best interest of the public and forward movement of this contract if we continue to provide service.”

The fire districts want the three landowners to split evenly the $27,000 cost to serve the area. It’s possible federal forest funds could cover some of the costs for two years, though it’s uncertain those funds can be used for this purpose.

Cowlitz County, which owns the Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center along the highway, is close to signing an agreement, said Eric Koreis, chief of District 6. And Weyerhaeuser has asked for an extension until the end of the month.

The Forest Service hasn’t been involved in talks, but Koreis said Skamania County officials contacted the fire districts about paying for service to Forest Service lands in their county. That would include the Johnston Ridge Visitor Center.

Talks with Skamania County have just begun, but officials there have requested a copy of the agreement with Cowlitz County once it’s finalized, Koreis said.

The Toutle district doesn’t have its own paramedic service, so it and Castle Rock jointly respond to calls along the highway. The trips can be 100 miles round trip and eat up gas and time for the volunteer fire districts. It also costs the districts to train and outfit their crews for the calls along the highway.

District 6 averages 20 calls a year up the highway, Koreis said. Fire officials have been asking for contracts and negotiations since 2007.

Related article:

Local fire districts draw the line over Spirit Lake Highway service  (May 13)