The following was sent by the Silver City Neighborhood Alliance:
As you may have learned at the Symposium, though Silver City is surrounded by vulnerable neighborhoods, Wind Canyon was identified as a priority to encourage to get the fuels out now. It particularly makes Silver City vulnerable to wildfire because it’s due west and upwind, the topography is extreme, the fuels are very dense, there is no fire hydrant system, and because it lies on the Gila Watershed, water pressure in the wells is low.
All the hard work that Nick Sussillo’s been doing as a volunteer with the SC Fire Department, all that done by the hard-working volunteers of the Wind Canyon Volunteer Fire Department, and that done by Asst Chief Tim Heidrick of the SCFD, and other agency reps, is beginning to pay off.
Contact your Volunteer Fire Department today to see what you can do in your neighborhood. Another informational meeting is coming up: 4/26, 3:30, Bear Mtn Lodge.
Ladies and Gentlemen of Wind Canyon,
As you all should know, Wind Canyon has been chosen as the pilot community for the Silver City/ETZ Community Wildfire Preparedness Plan (CWPP). I personally am thrilled with this and I know that the rest of the volunteers at the Wind Canyon Fire Station are as well. This means that if you follow the suggestions to trim up trees and cut grasses away from your home, we actually have a chance to save it in the event of a fire.
Because many of you were unable to attend the meeting Tuesday evening, I am attaching Tonya Vowles’ (NM State Forestry) list of people who can be contacted to help with thinning, Also, Roger Dombrowski has provided a list of links to web sites that will be helpful to you.
In order to have a starting point, Roger has put together a short questionnaire which will give us an idea of where each of you stand on this matter. Please take a minute to fill it out. Hit reply, scroll down to each question and type in your answer, then hit send and this email will return to me. Let’s try to get this done by next Monday evening March 31, please. I will assemble all the answers into a summary and send that back to you.
IF YOU OWN PROPERTY IN WIND CANYON BUT DO NOT LIVE HERE, please reply to this email with your intentions for your property. If you plan to build in the near future, now might be your best time to start making your property defensible.
The following web site will give you a comprehensive list of things to look for and do to help your property survive, specifically pages 7 – 10. http://ofb.ibhs.org/content/data/file/wildfire-checklist.pdf
Thank you in advance for your participation in this survey. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, Roger Dombrowski, or Wind Canyon Fire Station Chief, Holly Sytch.
Carol Pickering
GWCNW Coordinator
GREATER WIND CANYON CWPP QUESTIONNAIRE
Homeowner’s Name:
Property Address:
1. Have you already made your home and property defensible using guidelines contained in material such as “Living with Fire in New Mexico”, “Firewise”, or “Ready, Set, GO!”
2. If NO, are you planning to begin a defensible space program?
3. Are you interested in getting an assessment of your property which will highlight specific areas of concern?
4. Are you interested in pooling our resources to improve the wildfire preparedness of the entire Greater Wind Canyon area. Participation in a community-wide effort may make more resources available such as local assistance under the CWPP and grant funding.
5. Would you serve on a committee or board to organize our efforts to become a recognized “Firewise Community”?
Specific questions concerning your property which will be maintained by the Wind Canyon Fire Station in assessing accessibiity:
A. Is your driveway accessible with room to turn around a fire truck?
B. Do you have a locked gate? If so, Chain/padlock? Electric lock?
C. If you have a significant water storage source which could be accessed by fire trucks, are you willing to allow the Wind Canyon Station to use your water?
