Rio Verde residents are taking the first steps toward having the community recognized as a Firewise Community by the Arizona State Land Department. About a dozen citizens turned out for a recent meeting in which Lee Ann Berry, a firefighter with the State Land Department, explained the program.

Over the past 20 years people living on the boundary between urban areas and open forests and deserts have seen an increasing potential that their property could be destroyed by fire. In the southwest residents have seen the danger increased by prolonged drought conditions.

The Firewise Community program was established to involve citizens directly in the effort to mitigate fire danger where they live. Eb Scheuing is coordinating the Rio Verde effort to get neighbors together. Scheuing said he heard a recent presentation to the community association board by Rio Verde Fire District Chief Gary Bradbury. Scheuing said he talked with Bradbury following that meeting and things got moving on the Firewise effort. So far about two dozen residents are on board to work with the Rio

Verde Firewise committee, according to Scheuing. One of the first things a community must do is contact the coordinating agency in their jurisdiction to hold an informational meeting.

That took place when Berry met with residents earlier this month. Firewise is designed for local control. The residents themselves are asked to work with the local fire department to identify specific and unique hazards that need to be addressed. The Rio Verde Committee has been working with Fire District Capt. Mike Roggenstein to identify the significant hazards Rio Verde has with its interface areas. Scheuing said the Rio Verde Community Association has stepped up to address concerns within the common areas of the community.

They are also working with Maricopa County and McDowell Mountain Regional Park to clean up areas along the park boundary. Scheuing said that Roggenstein has learned from Tonto National Forest that the agency is working on a fuel reduction at the Needle Rock Recreation Area north of Rio Verde. Berry told the group that their job is to create layers of protection that make it more difficult for a fire to move from the wildland areas into their community. This work may include removing dead vegetation and maintaining a healthy landscape area between the homes and wildland. “I’m spending an hour every day trimming trees and hauling stuff off to the dump,” Scheuing said. “Others in the community pay landscapers to do the same.” Rio Verde is moving slowly through the steps to becoming a Firewise recognized community.

Thus far they have accomplished the hazard assessment with an ongoing effort to identify specific problem areas; they have met with the recognizing agency’s representative with Berry; they have created the local organization or committee to oversee the project; and there has been a demonstration of a commitment of $2 per capita in making the program work, this has been done through the RVCA’s efforts as well as what individuals have done with their own property. Recognition as a Firewise Community also requires observing a Firewise Day each year dedicated to a local project.

Scheuing said such a day is being planned for this fall. Firewise is designed to be an ongoing effort to keep the community safe and alert. Once recognized, the community must reapply each year to maintain its designation. “We recognize that wildfires will happen,” Berry said. “But homes do not have to burn. This is a program to address unique local issues with citizens developing local solutions.”