CURRENT NEWS . . .
MULTI AGENCY DRILL HOSTED BY OFD – Click HERE to see the latest video on Facebook from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office that took place on Sept 29, 2018. More information to come from Oracle Fire.
COMMUNITY SHRED-A-THON – On Sat., Oct. 27, 2018 from 10am-12 noon, AARP and Pinal County will be having a Shred-a-thon at the Oracle Courthouse (1470 N. Justice Dr.) for you to safely get rid of your private papers. Max five 13-gal trash bags or banker boxes per person. You can also get rid of unused or expired medication. Suggested donations are toiletries to benefit Pinal County abuse shelters (needed: toothpaste, tooth brushes, deodorant, shampoo and soap).
FIREWISE PROPERTY WINNERS FOR 2018 – On Sept 11, 2018, the Oracle Firewise Board met to give out the annual Firewise Property Awards. The winner for personal property was Juan & Maria Rodriguez of DeMarco's. The winner for business property for their work along American Ave. was Pinal County Public Works. Chief Robert Jennings and Firewise co-chair Mary Harris are shown here with the Firewise certificate along with a sign that will be in front of each property. Thank for all for your efforts to make Oracle a much safer community!
ORACLE HYDRANT CLEANUP – the Oracle CERTs met on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 7am to participate in the annual Cert Hydrant Cleanup.
Tina started their day with coffee and muffins and they proceeded to weedwack and clear debris from all the hydrants in Oracle so firefighters have one less problem when they need to get access. With the grasses being at an all-time high, it was quite a job. We would like to thank Dale Suter and his crew: David and Mary Harris, Barb and Bernie Haas, Susie and Collins Cothran and Holt Bodinson.
ORACLE FIREFIGHTERS – (August 2018) – The community of Oracle thanks our firefighters for helping out on the fires in California.
New full time Oracle firefighter Nick Brening – Firefighter Nick Brening was pinned as a full-time firefighter for the Oracle Fire District. Nick has only been with OFD for two years but has impressed his supervisors and fellow firefighters. He is an EMT and was named Firefighter of the Year for 2017. Fire Chief Robert Jennings said that “Brening has a class about him that brings the best out of people around him.” The Chief read a letter from U.S. Congressman of the 1st District, Tom O’Halleran that was sent in January. Click HERE to see the letter. Nick Brening is shown here as his new rank is pinned to his collar by his mother Joanna Brening. (photo John Hernandez/ Miner Copper Basin News)
OFD Firefighter Harley VanCollie received the Don Hartman award – The Don Hartman Award was established a few years ago to honor Don, the first Oracle Fire Chief and to keep his memory and tradition of community service alive. The award is presented to the firefighter who has displayed selflessness, caring, honor, respect, gratitude and commitment to the people of Oracle. Harley was elected by his peers to receive the award this year. He is shown here being presented the award by Fire Chief Robert Jennings. (photo John Hernandez/ Copper Basin News)
New Oracle Fire District Board member Will Ramsay – Will Ramsay, was sworn in at the OFD meeting on July 18, 2018. Former Oracle Fire District Operations Chief Will Ramsay was selected as the new board member replacing Dale Suter. Will had 32 years of service with the Oracle Fire District before retiring in 2014. With his experience and friendly personality, he will be a great addition to the Board. He is shown here being sworn in by Fire Board Chairman Franky Hill as the newest member of the Oracle Fire District Board.
AED presented to Living Word Chapel –
Oracle CERTs and OFD Chief Robert Jennings presented an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to Living Word Chapel on July 25, 2018. Mary Harris, co-chair of the Firewise Board presented the AED to Mike Sloan, an elder at the church. Firewise will provide training for church staff in its use. Firewise has provided AEDs for other non-profits in Oracle including the Oracle Public Library, Mountain Vista school and Rite of Passage. Chief Jennings said he wanted to personally thank Firewise and that this is a great example of support groups and the wonderful people involved doing great things for the community.
The AEDs, replacement pads and batteries are purchased with money received from the fees charged by the fire district for use of the brush dump. Those fees pay for the operation expenses for the dump. Any extra money is used for community betterment. These funds have been used to purchase the CERT trailer and supplies which allows the CERT volunteers to provide support for our firefighters and law enforcement during large incidents in Oracle and the southeastern part of Pinal County. (photo/article John Hernandez/ Copper Basin News)
ORACLE HORSE OWNERS EVACUATION PREPARATION GROUP (OHO) – met on Thursday, September 13th at Oracle Fire Station. Their meeting was to help plan for an organized and successful evacuation of one of our most vulnerable groups; horses, livestock, and other animals. Please inform anyone you know who would be affected and interested in learning more. For more information and to sign up for future meeting dates call the station at 896-2980 or email Tina at tacosta@oraclefire.org
SUMMER 2018 FIREWISE NEWSLETTER – By now you probably have received our latest 2018 summer newsletter in the mail. We try to get one out each year as part of our Firewise goals for being an officially-certified Firewise Community. This issue is now available on line. Click HERE and read about what's happening at OFD now! This two-page issue covers information on Firewise assesments and grants, defensible space, the Firewise and Cert groups, firewise community events, Oracle Emergency Notification System, Home Alone and the new horse owners group OHO. it also contains an Emergency Evacuation List for your reference. You can also access just the list HERE.
Oracle Firefighters Battle Brush Fire –
On Tuesday, July 3, 2018 at approximately 11:15am, Oracle Fire District was dispatched to a brush fire on the side of Highway 77 between Biosphere 2 and Oracle. First responders included Oracle Fire, Northwest Fire, Golder Ranch Fire, Arizona State Forestry Wildland Fire crew and DPS.
The fire was contained and controlled by 2pm. The incident shows just how dry the area is and should serve as a reminder to residents to be extremely careful. (article/photos: John Hernandez / Miner)
CYPRESS FIRE IN ORACLE (07-16-18) – A huge storm rolled in last evening and brought lots of wind, hail, and rain (0.41" at OFD and over 1" in some areas). Washes were running. It also brought a bolt of lightning that caught a cypress tree on fire in mid Oracle.
Remember, even though we don't think about washes running here very often, during storms like this, it is important to avoid entering these areas. (photo: D. Weiss)
NOTICE OF CALL OF ELECTION — ORACLE FIRE BOARD – Two vacancies will occur on the Fire Board at the general election in Nov. 2018. Click HERE to see the posting.
What is a Red Flag Warning? – According to the National Weather Service, a Red Flag Warning is issued when a "combination of low humidity, strong winds, dry ground cover, and warm temperatures are expected to bring critical fire weather conditions to the warned area." When we have these conditions, you may see our NEW, larger red flag flying in front of the fire station. Please be vigilant and cautious especially on these days.
SCHOOLS OUT! – Thursday, May 31, 2018. Oracle firefighters celebrate the last day of school for Mt. Vista students with a splash
ORACLE BURN BAN – Oracle Fire Disctrict now has a Burn Ban in place from April 1 through October 1, 2018. Burn permits for both residential and agricultural purposes are not valid during this time. To get more information from Pinal County click HERE.
BRUSH DUMP NEWS – April 18, 2018 – Oracle Fire District was able to burn the huge amounts of weeds, grass and brush that have accumulated at the Brush Dump located on American Ave. near the entrance to Oracle. It is now open for your use.
CELEBRATING FIRE PREVENTION WEEK IN ORACLE –
H.O.P.E. (Health Outreach Prevention Education) Walk – Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 9-13): This week was a busy week for both OFD personnel and the support groups Firewise and CERTs. Volunteers were needed to teach or assist teaching Oracle students about Fire Safety, Firewise, and Fire Prevention. Firefighters on duty brought fire trucks to the school to acquaint the children with both firefighters and their equipment. Firewise and CERT volunteers also assisted in traffic control on Friday, Oct 13th during the actual HOPE four-mile walk where children go through the streets of Oracle.
THE ORACLE EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM (ENS) –
You can't afford not to be on this list for emergency notifications. Click to go to the "ENS" form and be
sure to get any additional numbers (besides your landline) in the system by filling it out and returning it to
Oracle Fire District. Just drop it by the fire station.
FIREWISE PUBLICATIONS – Here is a list of firewise publications that may be useful to you. Click HERE to select your interest.
MORE INFORMATION – Would you like more useful info on wildfire?
Click HERE for News & Information, Fire Weather, Maps, WIldland Fire Data in Google Earth, Arizona Fire Ecology, WIldland Fire, Firewise Resources, Smoke and Air Quality, Info for Before, During and After a Wildfire, How to Help and Fire Prevention & Education topics. There are several excellent artlces relative under each topic you can click to at the Arizona Interagency Wildfire Prevention website.
WILDFIRE INFORMATION – There is ONE WEBSITE that has the best information on all major fires in the US. Make this a bookmark for Arizona and any other state you may want to check on. The home page takes you to the most current and largest fires. It has maps, details and updates. For all fires in one state, click at the top right, choose your state and click GO. Click HERE to go to that site or bookmark the link: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/
