During this past May, two key things happened regarding Fire Safety and Awareness for the Town of Cave Creek:
Firstly, on the evening of May 19th, the Whispering Hills Community at 36th Street and Carefree Highway was officially recognized by the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management (DFFM) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) as a certified Firewise/USA Community. This is a voluntary prevention program designed for individual communities that are located within Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas.
This residential community came together shortly after the major fires last year and aggressively took the needed steps to help protect their homes and investments. The Town of Cave Creek wants to thank them for their proactive efforts and also, would like to congratulate Whispering Hills for being the first “Official Firewise/USA” recognized community within the Town limits. What actions have you taken and are you prepared? If your community is interested in becoming a Firewise community, please contact the Fire and Building Safety Department at Town Hall at 480-488-6622 for guidance.
Secondly, on the first-year anniversary of the East Desert Fire, another wildland fire was started on the northern edge of the Town just beyond Cave Creek limits. This fire started at a construction site and began extending into the foothills of the northern mountain range. Fortunately, fire crews were able to quickly respond and rapidly get this wildland incident under control, holding it to approximately one acre.
“If additional common factors like higher temperatures, or if there were higher wind conditions, the outcome might not have been nearly as positive. The community very easily could have experienced a repeat of what happened last May,” stated Deputy Fire Chief Jim Ford.
This fire once again highlights how vulnerable this area is for major incidents and how quickly a wildland fire can start and spread. Currently, the Town of Cave Creek is undergoing Stage Two Fire Restrictions. This requires any construction site within the town to pull a permit and have a pre-inspection of the site, before any activities which could result in producing sparks occur. Projects with a current Building Permit already underway may call-in this fire safety inspection under their current permit number, prior to conducting any spark-generating activities.
These activities which require a permit include (but are not limited to) grinding, welding, cutting metal/rebar, or anything that could ignite the invasive and light flash fuels that are abundant in this area.
More information is available at www.CaveCreekAZ.gov/FireSafety
Whispering Hills becomes the first Firewise/USA Community
within the Town of Cave Creek on May 19th, 2021
Fire May 19th just beyond Town of Cave Creek limits, 2021