Collaborative Efforts Underway to Keep Flagstaff Safe from Wildfire, Floods

Hot and dry weather renews our concerns about destructive wildland fires. They can start in an instant and our strong winds can quickly cause them to grow, sometimes taking them out of the control of our firefighters.

What’s being done to protect our community and ensure that fire in the surrounding forests is helping to keep them healthy instead of scorching everything in its path and leaving the soil hydrophobic, resulting in flooding? Quite a bit, with more to come.

I want to emphasize the importance of signing up for emergency notifications. By signing up at coconino.az.gov/ready, you’ll make sure that you receive notifications about emergencies affecting you and your neighbors. If you wish, you can give additional information about members of your household (including pets) to assist emergency responders. All information you provide is private and your information isn’t shared outside of emergency response.

The National Weather Service has told us that this summer we can expect to have higher temperatures and delayed and lighter monsoon storms. We all have a part to play in decreasing the risks of wildfire in our neighborhoods and out in the forest. First, ensure that you have made your home and yard as fire resistant as possible. Here are some firewise suggestions: rake and remove all pine needles in your yard; remove pine needles and other debris from your roof and gutters; cut back branches that are too close or that hang over your roof; move firewood away from your house; help your neighbor do the same! More information can be found at firewise.org/usa.

A large part of Flagstaff’s strategy for protection from destructive wildland fire involves many partners engaged in the planning of forest thinning treatments, prescribed fire and wildfire response. Flagstaff Fire Department’s Wildland Fire Management Program and the Coconino National Forest coordinate response efforts year-round to keep our community as safe as possible. The coalition of those committed to helping keep our community safe also includes Summit Fire and Medical District, Highlands Fire District, Coconino County, Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, Northern Arizona University and Arizona Public Service.

In 2012, Flagstaff voters gave these efforts a boost when we approved a $10 million bond to create the Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project (FWPP). This investment has attracted more than $40 million from partner organizations and agencies to get significant forest restoration treatment work planned and completed, with more projects in the works. These treatments have focused on critical watersheds to reduce threats including diminished water quality and post-fire flooding. More than 14,000 acres have been restored with ecologically-based, wildfire risk reduction thinning in FWPP priority areas.

These efforts are paying off. Just a few weeks ago, a fire was spotted on the city’s Observatory Mesa Natural Area during a red flag day. Because of a quick, well-coordinated response of the Flagstaff Fire Department and Coconino National Forest, and FWPP forest restoration treatments, the fire stayed on the ground and was contained at just two-tenths of an acre.

In addition to the Coconino County Emergency Management webpage, other helpful sites are the Southwest Coordination Center, the Coconino National Forest Fire Management, and the city’s Discover Flagstaff and Flagstaff Fire Department social media pages. Here’s to a fun Flagstaff summer and a very firewise population! FBN

By Becky Daggett

Becky Daggett is the mayor of Flagstaff.