Beaver

Certified Firewise Community/USA

The township of Beaver, population 100, was inspired by its Carroll County neighbor Holiday Island to become a Firewise Community/USA in 2005.

A board was formed, homes were assessed, and a FireWise plan was created. Members of the Beaver Township FireWise Board review risk assessment forms and maps of their community (right). The original 12-member board included Mayor Chad Hipps (chairman), Tim Adams, Chris Lester, Peggy Kjelaard, Jim Dykes, Sherrell Dykes, Mary Hill, Buz Peine, Sue Simler, Jack Deaton, FireWise consultant/cartographer Tony Siciliano, and Carroll County AFC Ranger Darrell Bohannon.

The Beaver FireWise board took on its city park at Table Rock Lake as its first mitigation project. (Photos below).

Beaver is also the location of the March 2007 Arkansas FireWise Home of the Month. The home of Bill and LaDonna Padgett is located on Feather Creek Road. Bill Padgett serves as the board chairman of the Beaver FireWise board and is a volunteer firefighter for the Holiday Island Fire Department.

The board chose a wooded area between Feathercreek Road and Highway 187 as the site of the Beaver community's 2007 wildfire mitigation project. The project took 10 days to complete (March 13 to March 22).

Seventeen volunteers used chainsaws, leaf blowers, rakes, Weedeaters and limb saws to remove small trees, brush and ladder fuels. All debris was burned in a safe area with the fire department present.