Southwest Valley officials say the 2012 wildfire season likely willbe as busy as last year"s and people should do their part to helpprevent fires. There wasn"t a lot of rain this past winter to cause new plantgrowth, but there still is plenty of vegetation from last year"sheavy rains that could be fertile fuel for fires, said Russ Braden,a Goodyear Fire Department"s spokesman. Though weather forecasts indicate the winds needed to spread fireswon"t be as strong as last year, he said it"s important for peopleto use precautions in the desert and forested areas and aroundtheir homes. Fire near Buckeye in March 2012 "A lot of the fires we (responded to) last year weren"t started bynatural causes, so it depends on where people are at and whatthey"re doing," Braden said. Residents should keep a buffer zone of about 35 feet between theirhomes and bushes, tall grass, brush and other flammable vegetation,Avondale fire spokesman Ron Deadman said.
When hiking or camping, either in forests, the desert or parks likeEstrella Mountain and White Tank Mountain regional parks, Bradensaid, campfires should not be left unattended. Fires should be extinguished properly by pouring water on the ashesand mixing it in to ensure the embers are out. Braden also said people visiting regional parks should use thebuilt-in grills rather than their own cooking appliances "becausethey"re stationed in an area where they"re safe." "And, of course, (you) always want to properly discard of any kindof smoking material, whether it"s cigarettes, cigars, whatever. Putthem in ashtrays, make sure they"re out," Braden said. "(Don"t)throw it on the ground and walk off if you"re out somewhere in thedesert like that.
That might be the next large wildfire we have." Deadman said people also should pay attention to the alerts fromthe U.S. Forest Service about whether they"re allowed to burn andwhen high-wind days are. Southwest Valley firefighters recently completed annual refreshertraining on fighting wildfires. Among them was Goodyear"s wildland team, Hydraulic Testing Pumps for sale
a group of about 16firefighters who help battle large fires around the state whenforest agencies request assistance. Avondale doesn"t have a wildland team anymore because of budgetrestraints, but Deadman said their firefighters are ready to go ifthey need to respond to a fire.
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