Effective Friday, July 13, the Verde Valley Fire District lifted the fire restrictions that had been in place since April. The monsoon storms that have descended on the area in the past few weeks have ended the long dry spell of this year’s spring and summer, leaving the desert landscape wet enough for limited but controlled burning by residents.
“Because monsoons are so unpredictable, it’s certainly not an end-all of the ban,” said VVFD Chief Nazih Hazime. “Anything could happen as the weeks go by. We could go back to a drought. But we try not to do the back and forth stuff.”
The decision by the VVFD came in conjunction with coordination with the other fire districts in the area. Coconino Forest lifted its fire restrictions on July 11, and Prescott National Forest lifted on July 13.
“On behalf of the Prescott National Forest, we would like to thank our local cooperative agencies, resident neighbors and forest visitors for their involvement and understanding throughout a very long fire severity season,” Prescott NF Fire Restrictions Incident Commander Bradley Sorenson stated in a press release. “The fire restrictions and area closure that we all worked together on proved to be effective and successful. Thank you all for your contribution.”
“We want people to be able to burn if conditions are right,” Hazime said. He said he views it as a customer service to ensure that residents and visitors are able to light fires in the area as soon as the authorities feel that they can guarantee safety. Hazime reminded Verde Valley residents that though the ban is lifted, the valley is still a fire-prone area, and basic fire restrictions remain in place.
“Still use extreme caution when you’re doing any sort of burning or outside activities,” Hazime said. He recommended to keep grills away from flammable objects, soak charcoal until it is completely extinguished, not leave fires unattended until they are dead out, discard smoking material properly, and prevent tow chains from dragging and creating sparks.
“Always have a water supply line just in case something goes wrong,” Hazime said. “Obviously if there’s any doubt, call 911 and get us rolling.”
The Coconino National Forest, Cottonwood FIre District, Coconino County and other area fire agencies lifted their bans over several days last week.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
