Summer hours, Airport blasting, and preparing for Fire Season

Yep, it’s that time of year…when the City of Flagstaff officially switches over to summer hours! We’ll be running from 7 a.m. till 4 p.m. until early September. I see this catch a lot of folks off guard who come in to pay their water bill or sign up for recreation programs after 4 p.m. Sorry! Better to schedule a stop during your lunch hour…than to take time off of work at the end of the day and find out you missed it by an hour.

Blasting and extended shifts for the airport runway extension project will be going for several more months. Blasting times are scheduled for early to mid-afternoon (usually around 2 p.m.) at times that do not conflict with regularly scheduled commercial flights.
The contractor, seismic monitors, and airport operations staff monitor all blasts.

Also, the work at the airport is being done on a double shift schedule. Daytime shift work runs from 4:00 am to 2:00 pm. The evening shift runs from 4:00 pm to 2:00 am. The double shift work is expected to continue for the next several months.
Double shifting is needed for this stage of the runway extension in order to complete the entire project before the winter. When the earthwork is complete, the project will revert to a single day shift.

It’s already fire season folks! There is a lot you can do to be prepared and now is the time to get started. It’s YOUR responsibility to create a defensible property. During some fires it may not be possible for firefighters to protect every home. Once FireWise, your home or property is better able to survive a wildfire without direct intervention of fire suppression forces.

· Reduce density of surrounding vegetation.

· Thin and prune trees and shrubs, then dispose of debris properly.

· Prune branches to 10’ above the ground.

· Mow grass and weeds.

· Remove dead limbs, leaves, debris and other litter.

· Stack firewood away from structures.

· Keep roof and gutters free of debris.

· Remove branches that overhang structures.

· Install non-flammable roofing and siding material.

· Annually assess and treat your property to maintain its FireWise characteristics.

Prepare family evacuation plans in case of an emergency.

Here are some numbers and websites that will provide additional information about becoming FireWise and how you can protect yourself, your family, your home, and your neighborhood.

(928) 556-1207
(928) 779-7688
www.flagstaff.az.gov/fuelmanagement
www.firewise.org
www.firewise.org/usa/
www.azstatefire.org/FireWise/Firewise
www.cals.arizona.edu/firewise