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ARIZONA NEWSPAPERS AND NATIONAL LOCAL MEDIA ASSOCIATIONS’ NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
PAYSON ROUNDUP FRIDAY | OCTOBER 14, 2016 | PAYSON, ARIZONA
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DECISION 2016
DON’T FORGET TO VOTE! Paramedics use new pipeline helipad to save a life by
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
Photo courtesy Salt River Project
It’s only a concrete pad, but a newly installed helicopter landing pad may have helped save a man’s life Monday. On Oct. 10, a construction worker working on a home in Rim Trails fell some 27 feet from a ladder, sustaining life-threatening injuries, said Whispering Pines Fire Chief Ron Sattelmaier, who is also chair of the Northern Gila County Arizona Fire Chiefs Association. Within 40 minutes of receiving the call, Whispering Pines firefighters had the man loaded on to a Native Air helicopter and headed to a Valley trauma center. With critical injuries like these, every minute counts, Sattelmaier said. Luckily, crews could use a newly installed helipad at the C.C. Cragin Hydro Facility — located at the end of Phase 1
of the pipeline project. The Salt River Project installed the helipad in April as safety protection for SRP employees, said Jeff Lane, with SRP Media Relations. As a benefit to the Whispering Pines Fire District, SRP made the helipad available to land medical helicopters in emergencies. In an email to SRP’s hydro group, Sattelmaier expressed his appreciation to SRP and the individual who authorized the construction of the helipad and thanked “SRP and their commitment to supporting public safety in this remote part of northern Gila County.” Without the helipad, they would have had to airlift the man from the Beaver Valley helipad, some 20 to 30 minutes away, Sattelmaier said. Sattelmaier learned Tuesday that the man had survived the fall.
Forest Service will set thousands of acres on fire Two new fires will generate smoke, but also forest benefits by
Peter Aleshire
roundup
Editor
Controlled burns from more than 3,000 acres of new fires will generate smoke throughout Rim Country throughout the week of Oct. 17-20, according to Tonto National Forest fire specialists. The deliberately set fires will add to the smoke and benefit to the forest produced by several ongoing fires, started by lightning during the monsoon and still burning fitfully in the fire-adapted ponderosa pine forests. The still-active wildfires and controlled burns include the 17,000-acre Williams Ranger District Fire in the Kaibab National Forest, the 3,800-acre Pinchot Fire in the Coconino National Forest, the 6,000-acre North Kaibab prescribed fire, the 3,200-acre Fulton Fire on the face of the Mogollon Rim in the Tonto National Forest, the 2,000acre Sam Jim Fire in the ApacheSitgreaves National Forests, the 1,335acre Ord Fire and the 14,500-acre Fuller Fire in Grand Canyon National Park. The cheerful news releases from the Forest Service on the progress of nearly a dozen large fires scattered across Northern Arizona underscores the dramatic change in philosophy about wildfire. Once, the Forest Service prided itself on putting out most fires within 24 hours. Now, fire managers
Photo courtesy of U.S. Forest Service
carefully juggle the risk and the weather conditions — letting low-intensity fire spread whenever possible. Not only do such fires thin the overgrown forest and remove tons of deadwood from the ground on every acre, they dramatically reduce the risk of a forest-destroying, town-consuming crown fire during the hot dry months. The new controlled burns this weekend near Rim Country will nonetheless probably produce enough smoke to alarm many residents and perhaps cause problems for people with respiratory conditions. Fire crews will stop setting the fires by 3:30 each day to minimize the smoke impact, but urge motorists to watch for smoke and slow down to protect fire crews using the roads. Smoke may persist through Tuesday, Oct. 25. Fire specialists will conduct a 1,262-acre broadcast fire treatment in the Pyeatt Draw area south of Forest Road 198, west of Forest Road 433, and north of Pyeatt Draw Creek on Monday, Oct. 17 through Thursday, Oct. 20. Smoke will likely move to the north-
THE WEATHER
volume 26, no. 84
Weekend: Sunny and clear with highs in the upper 70s, overnight lows in the upper 40s. Pollen level in the medium range. See page 9.
See our ad and upcoming events on page 20
east, up and over the Mogollon Rim and will impact Ellison Creek Summer Homes and Estates, Diamond Point Summer Homes, and La Cienega Ranch. Smoke will be moderate to heavy in the Pyeatt Draw area and
Control Road 64. Residual smoke in the evening will impact Cold Springs, Ellison Creek Estates and Summer Homes, Diamond Point Summer Homes, Beaver Valley, and East Verde Estates.
Fire specialists will also conduct a 1,951-acre broadcast fire treatment on the east side of the 512 Road, also known as the Young Road, and Forest Road 109 Loop on Monday, Oct. 17 through Thursday, Oct. 20. During the day, smoke will move up and over the OW Ranch toward Forest Lakes. Residual smoke in the evening hours will impact the 512 Road and will move down the Cherry Creek drainage to Pleasant Valley. Fire crews may cancel the planned burns due to things like wind speed and direction, temperature, relative humidity, fuel moisture content, and other variables. The Forest Service has stepped up its use of prescribed burns during the cool, moist periods in an effort to thin
• See Controlled, page 2 Stop the violence
Women’s advocates led by volunteers for Payson’s Time Out Shelter made their annual march up the Beeline Highway to remember the victims of domestic violence. The most common violent crime in Payson and the most dangerous call for police to answer, domestic violence has claimed several lives in Payson in the past five years. Domestic violence generates more than 200 calls to Payson Police annually. Studies suggest the economic toll includes $6 billion annually in medical costs and $5 billion annually in time missed from work. Nationally, 20 people suffer a domestic violence attack every minute in the United States.