BISBEE, Ariz. (KGUN) — It may be the end of wildfire season, but the Bisbee Fire Department is already preparing for next year. The department received a $122,000 grant from the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management for its fire reduction initiative.
The funds will go toward cleaning up four different parts of the city: Old Bisbee City Trail (27 acres), West Blvd/Spring Canyon (8 acres), School Terrace (1.5 acres), and behind Safeway on Highway 92 (8 acres).
Bisbee Fire Chief Jim Richardson says these are the top four spots for the department, which is why they started with them and asked the state for funding to complete the project. The clean-up efforts require removing vegetation and trimming brush, to create fire breaks.
Richardson says the breaks help slow down a fire's ability to spread, giving the fire department time to get to the location of the fire. The chief says it was important to the department to help make the city safer from wildfires because they know it can be challenging for locals to get insurance for their homes and businesses.
"We're hoping this will make a difference with the insurance companies that that we're cutting a line and we're thinning and we're doing our part to help keep our city safe," he said.
C&A Desert Diggers, out of Hereford, are contracted to do the job. The company is owned by husband and wife, Charles and Aimee Anderson. They started the business last November after feeling the effects of a wildfire.
Charles says they were evacuated during the Wild Horse Fire last year. Their home survived because of a fire break surrounding their home. Charles says they lost their home insurance because of that fire, causing him to want to help others who may find themselves in similar situations.
“It left a scar in me that... I couldn't shake," he said. "I knew that this (business) needed to be (created)."
The veteran and his team will remove brush, trim trees, and clear areas to create clear paths that fires can’t cross. Richardson says now is the best time to start trimming and removing brush because the growing season is over.
"The fire breaks do work and they do slow down," Charles said. "I know we will be helping a lot of the locals here having this and I hope they (get) a peace of mind and that when they see us on these trails on these job sites... (they know) we're here for (them).”
He hopes to start on the four projects this week but doesn't expect them to be completed until early next year.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
