TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — We’ve already had some wildfires in Southern Arizona this Spring.Now Pima County has released a refined plan to reduce the risk of wildfires. Supervisors heard more about the plan at their meeting Tuesday.
There are plenty of places in Pima County where wildland, very vulnerable to fire, is very close to homes and there’s a real danger fire could spread. Now Pima County is developing a better wildfire plan of mitigation and response.
Pima County’s growth into natural areas means more people are living in what planners call the wildland urban interface.
Recent fires in Los Angeles reinforced the message that living close to nature can amp up the risk.
With our own wildfire lessons like the Big Horn Fire, Pima County, and particularly District 4 Supervisor Steve Christy have pushed for better prevention and planning. His district includes Mount Lemmon, Green Valley, and high growth areas around Vail.
He says, “We've had a number of fires over the years, in particular since I've been supervisor, that have been extremely large and extremely dangerous to people and to buildings. So we need to make sure that we have everything in place now, with the history that we have.”
The County plan stresses education—encouraging homeowners to create margins around their homes that limit plants and shrubs that will carry a fire close to the house.
It works to mitigate risk by clearing thick growth on land that could help a fire grow more intense.
And it calls for training and preparation to be ready for fires when they do come.
The county estimates the cost for all this as $360,000 to $500,000.
Cory Stephens says she lives at the base of the Santa Rita Mountains. She says her home’s well protected but she’s concerned about homeowners she knows who’ve lost their fire insurance because the state’s reclassified their homes as in a high risk zone. She says the state’s using outdated methods to make those decisions.
She thinks Pima County’s Wildfire plan is on the right track.
“But as I had mentioned when I spoke up during that process, they really need to look into the insurance aspect of it and make sure that homeowners aren't being dropped unnecessarily from their insurance policy.”
And she says she hopes the County will talk with state lawmakers to make sure the state is using the right technology to make the right decisions on insurance risk zones.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
