Firewise board members from Berlin, Fountain Hill, Hamburg, Milo, Montrose, Parkdale, Portland, West Crossett, Wilmont, Pansy, Manning, Vilonia, Lake Hamilton, Red Oak, Donaldson, Friendship, Midway, Batson-Oak Grove-White Oak, Ponca, Glenhaven Youth Ranch, Daisy, Lodi, Hibanks, and Old Union were honored for their community's recent recognition as Firewise Communities/USA. Fifth year Firewise Communities — Danville, Hartman, Hunt, Lutherville, Nimrod, Norphlet, Perry, and Strickler — were presented plaques from Arkansas FireWise and the Arkansas Forestry Commission in honor of their continued participation (photos below).

Plaques were also presented to representatives from Cossatot River State Park, Crater of Diamonds State Park, DeGray Lake Resort State Park, Historic Washington State Park, Hobbs State Park-Conservation, Lake Dardanelle State Park, Lake Fort Smith State Park, Lake Ouachita State Park, Petit Jean State Park, Prairie Grove State Park, Woolly Hollow State Park, and Withrow Spring State Park in recognition of their efforts to reduce the wildfire risk to structures within the state park boundaries (photos below).

Several active Arkansas FireWise individuals were recognized for their efforts to reduce the vulnerability of homes to wildfire and aiding communities working through the process of earning Firewise Communities/USA recognition. State Forester John Shannon and Jim Smalley, manager of the Firewise Communities program, presented the awards of outstanding accomplishment Lake Hamilton Fire Chief Matt Simpson; Ben Rowland, USFS Fire Management Officer for the Caddo/Womble Ranger District; and Ashley County Emergency Services Coordinator Jim Skender; and several AFC personnel—  Lowell Altom, Ranger II for White County; Orbin Barnes, Ranger II for Faulkner County; Harold Brasel, Newton County Ranger; Danny Crews, Ranger II for Pike County; Joe Friend, District 1 Forester; Chris Ludwig, Union County Ranger; Garland Matlock, Ranger II for Newton County; Roy Neil May, Clark County Ranger; Robert Murphy; Cleveland County Forester; Jody Perritt, Ashley County Ranger; and Billy Williams, Pike County Ranger—  were all recognized for their dedication and hard work.

For their second year, Lowell Altom, Chris Ludwig, Billy William, and Roy Neil May were recognized for their service in the program. All received jackets bearing the Arkansas FireWise logo and name.

Lowell Altom (second from left) was recognized for his continuing effort in bringing in communities in White County. Although Altom was not recognized for helping a specific community into the Firewise Communities/USA recognition process, he is working diligently to spread the Firewise message throughout, not only White County and portions of southern Independence County, but Cleburne, Van Buren, and Pulaski Counties.

Chris Ludwig (third from right) has assisted two communities, Hibanks and Old Union, through the Firewise Communities/USA recognition process in 2008. Former communities he has assisted with Firewise Communities/USA process include Cairo and Calion in 2006 and Mt. Holly in 2007. The community of Norphlet was recognized as a five-year community at the Oct. 29 luncheon.

Roy Neil May (far right) Previously, Roy Neil May assisted the community of Caddo Valley through the recognition process in 2007, and has hosted exhibits and meetings with fire departments in Clark County to provide residents with information to protect their homes from wildfire and encourage area communities to participate in Firewise Communities/USA. In 2008 May has continued to assist communities in the recognition process and hopes to see more communities in his county become Firewise..

Billy Williams (second from right) assisted the communities of Daisy and Lodi to be recognized as Firewise Communities/USA this year. Williams has also helped guide Antoine, Camp Albert Pike, Langley, Meeks Settlement and Newhope through the recognition process, and even assisted fire departments with conducting wildfire risk assessments for homes in their community. Williams has also hosted exhibits during community Firewise days to provide area residents with information to protect their homes from wildfire.  Williams is currently assisting several other Pike County communities in the early stages of the recognition process and has also offered assistance to Howard County.

Other AFC personnel were also honored at luncheon. Joe Friend, Jody Perritt, Danny Crews, Robert Murphy, Orbin Barnes, and Garland Matlock were all on hand to receive awards. Harold Brasel and Dean Steelman are not pictured but also received awards for their work in FireWise.

Joe Friend (second from left) and Jody Perritt (third from left) worked closely with Skender to see all of Ashley County certified with Firewise Communities/USA. Both men have dedicated time and attention to the FireWise effort in Ashley County and doing so earned them special recognition along with Skender in January 2009.

Danny Crews (fourth from left) has worked with Williams in Pike County. It is important for communities to continue certification, and along with Williams, Crews has worked hard to gather paperwork and distribute information.

Robert Murphy (third from right) helped with Pansy’s certification in 2008. Murphy hopes to stir interest in several more communities in Cleveland County, and he continues to work closely with area fire departments along with Ranger II Dean Steelman (not pictured).

Orbin Barnes (second from right) serves on the board for Vilonia and assisted with the community’s certification in a very short period of time in 2008. Barnes continues his hard work in Faulkner County and is helping several communities along the certification process including East Cypress and Liberty communities.

Harold Brasel (not pictured) and Garland Matlock (far right) have worked closely together in order to bring FireWise to Newton County. The two helped usher in Ponca as a new Firewise Communities/USA addition in 2008. Brasel and Matlock are working hard to spread the principles of Firewise throughout the area.

Fire Chief Matt Simpson was honored for his work within Garland County. Lake Hamilton and Red Oak were newly recognized Firewise Communities/USA in 2008, and Simpson previously helped the community of Diamondhead through the recognition process. Lake Hamilton, while celebrating its 50th year as a fire department, was also named Arkansas FireWise’s 100th recognized community. Simpson states he is a firm believer in the FireWise program, and with the help of FireWise Consultant Dr. Kelly Hurt, the Lake Hamilton and Red Oak communities now have detailed maps of the high risk areas that can be used in numerous ways.

Jim Skender was a man on a mission, or so it seemed. As the Ashley County Emergency Services Coordinator, Skender took the FireWise message to heart, bringing in nine communities for complete certification within a month’s time. Twenty-eight more communities were added by Dec. 31, making Ashley County the first county in Arkansas to have every community recognized. A recognition dinner was held for the county on Jan. 13, 2009. Community members, board members, fire department personnel, city and local government, and AFC personnel gathered in Hamburg for the occassion. Previously reconized communities as well as new communities were invited to the ceremony.

Ben Rowland, Fire Management Officer for the Caddo/Womble Ranger District, has worked hard to Firewise the Ouachita Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center. If a fire were to destroy or damage the conservation center, decades of history would be lost, and recognizing the possible risk, Rowland helped to make the center less susceptible to fire. He has also done other work in the area to spread the Firewise message.