CURRENT NEWS . . .
Fire Season has arrived! Coronado National Forest has implemented Stage One Fire Restrictions. Trails and campgrounds are still open, but camp fires and other open flame cooking devices are restricted.
Our firefighters have responded to three fires in Oracle during the last week and so far, fire behavior has been very manageable for our crews. Warm weather, wind, and a low relative humidity is really drying out live fuels, and as these fuels continue to get dryer, fire behavior will become more difficult to manage. Please be alert for fire or smoke and call 911 at the earliest sighting.
Grant Work in Oracle – The Arizona State Foresters Office, Pinal County Emergency Management and Oracle Fire Department are working together on a Firewise Grant. This grant will pay for the costs of removing excess fire hazardous materials along American Avenue. Work on this project will continue throughout the summer, ending on September 30th.
Photos above show 'Day One' of the Firewise Grant project on American Avenue in Oracle, May 2012.
Learn, Prepare, Be Firewise this year . . . Thank you for attending our Annual ORACLE FIREWISE DAY on May 5th. We had a great time and many of you took advantage of the slide shows presented by our Oracle Fire staff and Tucson Botanical Gardens as well as the free brush day coupons.
We held a Firewise Poster Contest for third & fourth graders at Mountain Vista School in May. Here is a photo of the winners, their teachers, and OFD staff on April 25, 2012 when they received their awards. All the posters, along with the winners, will be on display at Firewise Day. Come check them out.
Here's a list of award winners:
Grand Prize: Samuel Rayes / Second Place: Abryana Bayze /
Third Place: Isabella Cline
and Honorable Mentions for:
Gilberto Pinedo / Ashley Jennings / Dabry Nicholson
Oracle Brush Abatement Program – When it comes to grant funding, you can never have enough. Just ask the Oracle Fire Department . . .
New funding has allowed it to extend and expand the brush abatement program. OFD has received grants totaling $121,400 from the AZ State Forestry Division that can be used for brush abatement around private homes. The funds allow a private homeowner living within a quarter mile of Federal land to receive a significant savings in the cost of clearing brush from their land by the AZ State Forestry Division and their AZ Department of Corrections Wild Land Fire Crew.
Under the grant, private homeowners will only have to pay 10% of the cost with the grant providing the remaining 90%. There are many homeowners living within a quarter mile of the Coronado National Forest. "The main objective is to create a defensible perimeter around the homes," said Battalion Chief Larry Southard.
The AZ Department of Corrections Wild Land Fire Crew has been doing an excellent job with brush abatement projects around Oracle. This is part of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan which has been developed between the community of Oracle and government agencies to identify wildfire hazards and minimize the dangers should a wildfire occur.
(photo by John Hernandez, article by San Manuel Miner)
