11/23/2009 10:17:00 PM New 'Firewise' signs go up in Prescott area
Matt Hinshaw/The Daily Courier
City of Prescott traffic control employee Roy Madris carries one of the new Firewise signs to the intersection of Iron Springs Road and Williamson Valley Road Thursday afternoon.
Matt Hinshaw/The Daily Courier
"The new sign draws your eye better than the old ones," Prescott Area Wildland/Urban Interface Commission (PAWUIC) Chair Gary Roysdon said.
Drivers throughout the Prescott region might notice some new signs that alert them to two words every local resident should know: defensible space.
The Prescott Area Wildland/Urban Interface Commission (PAWUIC) used about $3,700 in grant money to buy the signs and posts.
The group wants to spread the word that people need to create defensible space around their homes to protect themselves from wildfires. That sometimes means thinning out overgrown vegetation so a continuous line of fuel is not available to fire.
While similar signs already existed in Prescott, Walker, Crown King and the Central Yavapai Fire District's rural Prescott coverage area, these signs have new designs and now appear in four new locations in the forested communities of Groom Creek and Crown King south of Prescott, PAWUIC Chair Gary Roysdon said.
"The new sign draws your eye better than the old ones," Roysdon said.
The signs simply say, "Be firewise. Create defensible space." They also list the phone number of the local fire department, and say they are sponsored by PAWUIC. They feature a photo of a home surrounded by fire. Morgan Sign Co. in Prescott designed them.
The new signs also will replace some of the older signs in poor condition that have been in place for about seven years in Prescott. They contain the same words but a different design. State Farm Insurance donated them.
In all, 56 signs will stand throughout the region, Roysdon said. About half feature the new design.
"Anytime you see the words 'defensible space,' in my opinion, is good," said Roysdon, a PAWUIC volunteer who lives in the forested community of Highland Pines just west of Prescott. He gives free presentations about the need for people in Arizona's forests to create defensible space.
The Prescott area has more subdivisions and communities that have earned the firewise designation than any other region of the country. To learn more about firewise communities, people can visit www.firewise.org.
Experts rate Prescott as a high risk for catastrophic wildfires because of the thick vegetation and dry conditions here.
PAWUIC is involved in numerous projects to encourage citizens to create defensible space. Volunteer member Everett Warnock coordinated the new signs. Other members include local fire departments, the state and Prescott National Forest.
PAWUIC's website is at www.pawuic.org.
Reader Comments
Posted: Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Article comment by:
Try Reading
try reading, only
FOUR new signs, the others replace existing, damaged signs
Posted: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Article comment by:
Retired Five-Oh
Wonder who got the contract to make the signs? I moved to this area, for one thing, for the LACK of signs! Whoever OK'd this should be out of a job.
PS, both of you youngsters are wrong. "Signs" was a hit performed by the Five Man Electric Band. The other Johnny's Come Lately merely covered it.
Posted: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Article comment by:
henry
Yeah, that was Tesla .
Posted: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Article comment by:
mother nature
how sad that humans will never learn to modify themselves to fit their environment rather than the other way around. huh?!? i mean - in this instance - build homes out of fireproof materials - nothing burnable on the outside of a home. oh yeah, i forgot... it's too much more expensive than just scraping the ground bare so all that nasty, burnable vegetation isn't too close to your wonderful house.
Posted: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Article comment by:
No more signs please
Are you kidding me, like we need more signs in what was beautiful Prescott. I can hardly see the horizon anymore, ( "NO PARKING" "NO LEFT TURN" "NO RIGHT TURN" "NO ENGINE BRAKING" "SCHOOL ZONE AHEAD" "LIBRARY AHEAD" "HOSPITAL AHEAD" "TRUCK ROUTE" " HISTORICAL SITE AHEAD" "MUSEUM AHEAD" "FIRE STATION AHEAD" and now a "DEFENSIBLE SPACE".) I mean, come on. How much are these signs costing us anyway? They can't be cheap. Please no more signs! It reminds me of that Tom Petty song, "signs signs everywhere there's signs..."
