One year after a fire engulfed the bus barn, the reconstruction of the Park County School District 1 facility is almost finished.

“We are just waiting for the garage doors to be done and we could be back in there at the end of this week,” Stephen Janes, transportation supervisor for the district, said Tuesday. “It is looking good.”

Janes said he was hoping to be back in the building “before the snow flies, and that is going to happen.”

“The supply chain disruptions definitely caused some delays with the project, which was common in all areas of construction last year,” he said.

Diamond Point Construction of Buffalo did the reconstruction work, at a total cost of $372,500.

The blaze broke out on the morning of Sept. 14, 2020, and while it’s believed to have been electrical, the fire marshal’s report listed no definitive cause.

On Tuesday — the one-year anniversary of the fire — Janes said what sticks out most in his mind is how firemen reacted when they saw that Justin MaGill, the district’s mechanic, was safe.

When Powell firefighters first arrived at the burning bus barn, they thought MaGill — who also serves as a volunteer fireman — was inside.

“The firemen were working so hard to make sure no one was in the building and that all was clear,” Janes said.

MaGill happened to be out of the building that morning, and when he later arrived at the scene, firemen welcomed him with “big hugs,” Janes recalled.

“They were all relieved knowing he was not in the building,” he said.

No staff members were in the bus barn when the fire broke out.

“I am so thankful that we were able to make it through without anyone being injured,” Janes said.

Janes commended the Powell Volunteer Fire Department for how well they worked together and said the leadership “really was impressive.”

“The team effort of the firemen that day was tremendous and responsible for saving vehicles and much of the building,” he said.

Janes thanked emergency responders for “taking action and saving so many of our resources.”

He also thanked Tommy Kovach for alertly contacting authorities when the fire started.

Within hours of the blaze, neighboring school districts in Cody and Lovell loaned buses to Powell so normal routes could continue that afternoon. The Meeteetse district “also let us use an activity bus a couple of times when we short,” Janes said.

“I was astonished and blessed by how fast the other districts in the area were able to help us out,” he said. “They got us buses to keep our operation moving forward that day, without interruption.”

Park 1’s fleet was restored to 24 school buses — the number the district had prior to the fire, Janes said.

Over the past year, the district received six new buses. An activity bus was on order before the fire, and the five route buses destroyed in the fire have all been replaced, he said.

The district will be receiving $784,505 for reimbursement for replacement buses.

“This all was covered either by the district property insurance and/or the replacement bus schedule through the Wyoming Department of Education after we netted the insurance proceeds to them on the bus losses,” said Mary Jo Lewis, business services coordinator for the district.

Superintendent Jay Curtis commended Janes for his leadership of the district’s Transportation Department. He said Janes has a smile on his face every day at work, and “you can’t be in a bad mood if you go to the bus barn.”

“The example that he sets permeates that building,” Curtis said at a school board meeting last month, adding, “We just want you to know, Steve, how much we appreciate you and your crew.”

Janes thanked the bus drivers “who worked through the winter in less than pleasurable conditions.” 

“Everyone pulled together and we were able to get through a very trying year,” he said.