Garland County

FireWise Boards

The FireWise message was first brought to the Garland County communities of Hot Springs Village and Lonsdale in 2003.

Attending that first meeting were Willard Speers, Joy Sanders, D. J. Sanders, Billy Tackett, David Lashlee, Marcus White, Tami Tackett, Rodney Asbury, Emory Martin Jr., Emory Martin III, Elaine Larklee, Aaron Smith, and Curtis Hardin. The Arkansas FireWise Team came back to Lonsdale in 2006, calling on the Ready Club at Ten Mile Baptist Church with a PowerPoint production about the Wildland-Urban Interface. Special thanks to Fran Jowers, a member of the church and the Crows Volunteer Fire Department, who invited Arkansas FireWise to visit.

Buckville

Buckville, a small town with lots of history, is nestled along Avant Buckville Rd. on the north side of Lake Ouachita, just south of Highway 298 in Garland County.

On April 7, a wildland fire threatened the community coming to within a quarter-mile of the northeast corner of the small town.

"Thanks to a lot of outstanding firefighting by the Arkansas Forestry Commission, U.S. Forest Service an five volunteer fire departments, the fire was contained without air support," said David Samuel, Arkansas FireWise Coordinator. "Listening to the Buckville firefighters, I heard lots of praise for firefighters with names like Ben, Kurt, Willard and Chad."

The residents of Buckville decided it was time to hear about Arkansas FireWise.

With the help of Ben Rowland, Bill Howard and Tommy Scott, David Samuel was invited to spend the evening of May 11, 2006,  with the firefighters and homeowners of Buckville discussing Firewise and how they can protect their property by become a Firewise Community.

Those attending the meeting were Tommy Scott, Buckville VFD Chief; John Harrell, Jessieville VFD; Betty Brady, Buckville VFD board president; Leo Bodwin, Buckville VFD Captain; Roy and Judy Pickering, Vell and Vonise Meredith, Dean and Beverly Meredith, Joy and Ab Pickering, Rickey and Linda Ballew, Lynette and Rickey Ballew, Tim and Sarah Green, Richard Ballew, Dena Lambert, Johnny Brady, Edison Jones, Joe Robertson, Bill Howard and David Samuel.

The hour-long program was broken into two parts -- a 30-minute presentation on Firewise and how to become a recognized Firewise Community/USA, and a 30-minute presentation on conducting home risk assessments.

The FireWise board was organized at the conclusion of the presentation and plans were being made to begin risk assessments. Each firefighter will be paired with one or two homeowners who will assist in the assessments.

A brief history of Buckville's relocation:

A dam was proposed around the turn of the century to provide electric power to residents of the region, but would also result in the creation of what is now known as Lake Ouachita. During the 30s, 40s and early 50s, the citizens of Buckville watched as their homes, businesses and schools were slowly torn down to make way for the lake. Even cemeteries had to be relocated.

In 1953, the dam was completed, and Buckville soon slipped from sight beneath the waters of Lake Ouachita. The only structure that remains is the Buckville Southern Baptist Church, which was relocated to higher ground as the result of the fund-raising efforts of its congregation.

For one day each summer, a homecoming is hosted at the Buckville Baptist Church for former members. The event provides former residents an opportunity to reminisce about their younger years living along the banks of the Ouachita River.