Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Input On Community Wildfire Protection Plan Needed

Did you know that we live in the Sonoran Desert and still face the danger of wildfires?

“There are some people out there that think since this is the desert southwest there is no chance that a wildfire could affect them,” stated Pinal County Emergency Management Director Pete Weaver. “We’ve had a lot of rain over the winter, the wildflowers are blooming and we have buffelgrass in many areas – that adds up to potential fuel for a wildfire.”

Weaver said that Pinal County Emergency Management Officials are working with a team of natural resource and wildfire specialists from multiple agencies. The agencies include local fire chiefs, the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to develop a Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

“This is a very straight-forward, comprehensive plan,” Weaver said, “and we need to know what Pinal County residents think of it. We will have two public meetings and are making the plan accessible on the internet. We invite all residents to download and review the plan or go to any of the public meetings to offer comments.”

If you have questions or comments on the Community Wildfire Protection Plan – you can submit them through the website or at the public meetings. You can also submit your comments or questions by mail to: Richard Remington, Logan Simpson Design Inc. 33 N. Stone Avenue, Suite 1460, Tucson, Az 85701.

Public Meetings:
Casa Grande - March 24th, Casa Grande City Council Chambers, 510 E. Florence Boulevard at 6:30 pm.
Apache Junction - March 23rd, Apache Junction Fire District Fire Station 264, 7557 East US Hwy 60 at 6:30 pm.