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Firewise Recognition Day Northwest Arkansas March 2006 |
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Presenting the awards to community leaders from
Beaver
(Carroll County, left),
Cecil (Franklin County,
below), and
Kingston (Madison County,
bottom) were Arkansas Forestry Commission Fire Chief Don McBride and Arkansas Firewise Coordinator David Samuel. Also being recognized at the presentation will be “The wildland/urban interface is the area where communities of people live next to undeveloped wildland,” said Samuel, a certified forester. “Many of the forested areas in Arkansas are becoming very attractive places to live and to build a home. We’re teaching homeowners how to protect themselves from wildfire,” he said.
Local fire departments often provide Firewise leadership and support, said McBride, the state fire chief. “Rural fire departments have been an important part of the program because they bring information to their individual communities and work with the residents to develop a prevention plan that works for their specific area of the state,” he said.
The Firewise Communities/USA can be found in 31 state, and there are 147 recognized communities. The spring 2006 top three participating states are Arkansas (41), Washington (13), and Texas (11).
Below: Bull Shoals-White River State Park (Marion County) has initiated its own Arkansas FireWise plan to keep the 660-acre park safe from wildfire.
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Two towns in Northwest Arkansas and one in the Arkansas River Valley became Arkansas’ 39th, 40th, and 41st
To be certified, Firewise Communities USA in Arkansas must meet state and federal requirements. A Firewise board of local citizens is formed, assesses the wildland fire risk of the community, and develops a Firewise plan. Next the board uses volunteered time and federal grant money administered by the Arkansas Forestry Commission to eliminate exterior fire hazards in the community such as tree limbs hanging over buildings, vegetative fire fuel near homes, and poor access for emergency vehicles.
Two-hundred-seventy-three of the 960 fire departments in Arkansas have been trained to assess wildland fire risks to homes in their fire districts by the Arkansas Forestry Commission. And Arkansas Firewise Communities and fire departments have received more than $500,000 to complete risk assessments and fuel mitigation projects that reduce wildfire threat to communities.
