Public to Review Community Wildfire Protection Plan
WILLIAMS, Ariz. – The Greater Williams Area Community Wildfire Protection plan will be presented at three meetings this week, to be held in Flagstaff, Parks and Williams, for the benefit of interested citizens.
The Flagstaff meeting will be held 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, during a Coconino County Board of Supervisors Work Session at the County Administration Building, 219 E. Cherry Ave., Flagstaff. The Parks/Sherwood Forest Estates public meeting will be held 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23, in the Community Center at Maine Consolidated School in Parks. The Williams informational meeting will be held 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, at a Williams City Council meeting in Council Chambers at City Hall, 113 S. 1st St., Williams.
“This plan lays out a framework for making local communities more defensible against wildland fire over the next 10 years,” said Joe Reinarz, fire management officer for the Kaibab National Forest’s Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts and a participant in the creation of the plan. “Because it directly affects communities like Williams, Parks and Sherwood Forest Estates, we want to hear local citizens’ input.”
Both meetings will include a formal presentation about the plan and a question and answer period. Copies of the plan will be available at the meetings.
The Greater Williams Area CWPP was commissioned in September 2004 and is a collaborative effort between a number of different agencies. These include the City of Williams, Coconino County, Parks-Bellemont Fire District, Sherwood Forest Estates Fire District, Kaibab National Forest, Arizona State Land Department and concerned citizens.
The timbered areas of the Williams Ranger District on the Kaibab National Forest, including all private land, are covered by the Greater Williams CWPP. The goal of the plan is to provide landowners with a broad spectrum of treatment options including tree thinning and prescribed
burning. The plan also prioritizes areas for treatment, providing community direction to land managers about how, when and where fuels reduction projects should take place.
The Greater Williams Area CWPP can be viewed on Coconino County’s Web site at www.co.coconino.az.us under “Emergency Services.” Comments can be sent to plan developer George Kleindienst at gwkleindienst@aol.com. Community members will be able to view the posted plan and provide comments until March 1.
For more information, please contact Jackie Denk at 928-635-5607.
