Here’s a look at today’s headlines:
The Gila National Forest, Quemado Ranger District has scheduled to remove the wooden footbridge located on the east side of Quemado Lake on April 21st. The footbridge is unstable as some of the wooden planks and support beams are weather and beginning to rot. The district is working with Forest Engineers to replace the bridge in the next couple of months. For more information about this project, contact the Quemado Ranger District.
This past Tuesday, employees of the Gila National Forest went out to the Wilderness Ranger District to set up smoke monitoring equipment in preparation for the L-T Prescribed Burn that will be occurring the last week of April conditions permitting. The information is sent to an Interagency Real Time Smoke Monitoring website which will assist the Gila NF in evaluating smoke settling in drainages and washes. This information will help monitor conditions while the fire is managed, and the data will also be available to be used by health officials to determine when to issue a public health advisory.
The Silver Consolidated School District recently held a community meeting to allow the public to give comments about the proposed four-day-week. Some points of discussion include grades, attendance figures, and financial improvement. Concerns include struggling students and childcare on Fridays. Both positives and negatives were addressed at the meeting.
The Central Arizona Project Entity is apparently preparing to change its plans for a diversion on the Gila River. The plan that was approved last July for a diversion near the Gila gauge has been cancelled as permission to use the land was refused. Another set of option in Phase 2-b will now be considered, including diverting water from Mogollon Creek, the San Francisco River and farther downstream on the Gila River. The Cap Entity now needs to develop a new Request for Proposal and a new scope of work for the engineering firm.
Stage 2 of the Tour of the Gila wrapped up this afternoon. On the men’s side, top three finishers are Eric Young, Travis McCabe, and Jose Aguirre. Men’s jerseys after stage 2 are: Matteo Dal-Cin in the Leader Jersey, Byron Guana as King of the Mountain, Travis McCabe in the Sprinter Jersey, and Best Young Rider after Stage 2 is Stephen Bassett. On the women’s side, the top three are Lex Albrecht, Tayler Wiles, and Scotti Lechuga. Women’s jerseys after stage 2 are Tayler Wiles in the Leader jersey, Melind McCutcheon as Queen of the Mountain, Tayler Wiles again in the Sprinter Jersey, and Best Young Rider Ruth Winder. View more results on the newly redesigned website at TouroftheGila.com.
