3/20/2015 – As you may have heard today is the first day of Spring! Along with spring cleaning inside your house don’t forget to tidy up outside. Clearing the area around your home and making “defensible space” is crucial to aid in saving your home from devastating wildfires. There is still time to obtain burn permits and take care of any debris that has built up around your property, irrigation ditches or weeds before the winds pick up.  If you are planning to get some spring cleaning done make sure to contact your local fire department, police department or if your residence does not fall under a fire district contact your county or tribal emergency management department for more information. You MUST call before burning to make sure it is safe. Always keep a source of water nearby with a shovel and plenty of dirt, keep piles small and you are required to stay with any burning material at all times until it is completely extinguished.

A few departments have permit forms online and most cost nothing or minimal fee to obtain.  Below is a list of places or websites to get your burn permit.

In person:

Holbrook area – City of Holbrook, 465 1st Avenue

Joseph City – Contact Chief DeSpain at (928)587-5641

Pinetop area – Pinetop Fire Station 110, 1845 S. Pine Lake Rd

Snowflake and Taylor area – Snowflake-Taylor Police Department, 602 S. Main Street

Winslow area – Winslow Fire Department, 215 N. Taylor Ave

Online permits

Timber Mesa Fire – https://ww04.elbowspace.com/secure/20130611100039599152

Heber-Overgaard Fire – http://www.hofdaz.com/burning-guidelines.html

Navajo County (*outside of any other fire district)

http://www.navajocountyaz.gov/emergencymanagement/Burn.aspx

**hours for burning may vary so you much check with your area

March 4, 2015 – The White Mountains may have received moisture recently, but we still need to be careful with fire. Warm daytime temperatures and high winds will dry out light fuels quickly, making it easy for fires to spread.
Every spring homeowners should take a proactive approach to protecting their home and property from wildfire. By working with your neighbors, individual residents can make their own property – and their neighborhood – much safer from the flames and embers of a wildfire. There are multiple ways to make your home more defensible from a wildfire; some of them are very simple. Mow your lawn, keep weeds short and remove ground litter and dead vegetation to slow the advance of a wildfire. Remove all burnable material from rain gutters where embers can get trapped. Trim tree limbs at least 10 feet from the ground to make it harder for ground fire to reach higher limbs and become a crown fire. Create a “fire-free” area within five feet of the house. Make sure that firewood stacks and propane tanks are outside of the “fire-free” area. For more information and helpful tips visit www.firewise.org.
In the process of making your home and property more defensible from wildfire, you will have produced debris such as lawn and tree trimmings, yard waste, stumps, branches, and leaves. This material is known as green waste. There are multiple locations throughout the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests that accept green waste, to find a location near you, contact your local Ranger District. Some homeowners may choose to burn their yard debris, which can cause a wildfire if not done correctly. Always use caution and common sense before lighting any fire and follow these tips for safe debris burning:
* Comply with local county laws; they may require a burn permit.
* Notify your local fire department and sheriffs’ department.
* Check the weather forecast for changing weather conditions or high winds.
* Never burn on a windy day or red flag day, or leave your fire unattended.
* Always keep water and hand tools available.
* Choose a site far from power lines, overhanging limbs, buildings, automobiles and   equipment.
* If using a burn barrel, make sure it:
o Is metal and in good condition with a top screen on mesh that is one-fourth  inch or finer.
o Has vents with metal screen coverings and is stirred often and never left  unattended.

2/25/15 – According to representatives with Century Link, One of their major fiber optic cables was accidentally cut just north of New River near Phoenix. This line also carries many cell phone and internet providers that service Northern Arizona. Restoration time frame still unknown.

“ORIGINAL POST: FLAGscanner is receiving word from utility companies in Northern Arizona, that much of the region is without cell phone or internet service at this hour. This is the result of a large communications line that has accidentally been cut according to our sources. One company advised us that service restoration could take anywhere from 2 hours to 24 hours.”

Stay tuned to this page for updates as we get them.