July 24, 2019 • Vol. 17, No. 36
POSTAL PATRON CAVE CREEK
www.thefoothillsfocus.com
ECRWSS Carrier Route PreSorted Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 371 Cave Creek, AZ
Anthem | Black Canyon City | Carefree | Cave Creek | Desert Hills | New River| North Phoenix | Tramonto | Peoria
Central Fire burns more than 500 acres near New River BY TARA ALATORRE
Pictured: Air tankers dropping fire retardant on July 20, during containment efforts for the Central Fire, in (Photo by Lisa Martin) the Tonto National Forest near New River.
NEW RIVER – A firstalarm brush fire that ignited on Saturday, July 20, near New River and Mingus roads, which is north of the Wrangler’s Roost, has been officially contained, according to fire officials. Sources say that the Central Fire was human caused and burned approximately 503 acres in the Tonto National Forest and Arizona State Trust Land. Daisy Mountain Fire and Medical (DMFM) crews responded to the brush fire at approximately 10 a.m. and by the time firefighters arrived the blaze had already consumed about one acre. “It was fast moving,” DMFM spokesman Matt Wood said,
who was also a firefighter on the scene. “Wind, fuel, topography and access was an issue… basically we had everything going against us.” Wood says first responders had trouble flanking the fire initially because of the terrain and by 11 a.m. the brush fire had been upgraded to a first-alarm fire, with Tonto National Forest firefighters arriving shortly after. The fire progressed to the east and north away from properties, burning mostly in the Tonto National Forest. It was fueled by dried grasses and brush, especially in the hilly areas. Units from Phoenix, Peoria, Glendale and State Forestry
CENTRAL FIRE continued on page 13
Jimmy Dean checks off a bucket list item with Daisy Mountain Fire Department's Station 146 BY TARA ALATORRE
NEW RIVER – Everyone has a bucket list, a checklist of life experiences and goals they want to accomplish before leaving this world. But have you ever wondered what a dog’s bucket list might look like? Well Emilee Spear the founder of Rusty’s Angels, which is a senior dog sanctuary in New River that rescues elderly dogs, trying to re-home them or providing them with care and comfort until the end, has done just that. She recently created a bucket list for Jimmy Dean, a 14-year-old dog that has been with Rusty’s Angels for one year
and was diagnosed with bladder cancer about two weeks ago. Spear says that Jimmy Dean is one of her favorite dogs at the sanctuary and she could never understand why no one showed any interest in adopting him. His diagnosis hit Spear hard, so she decided she wanted Jimmy Dean to go out with a bang. “He loves being in public and going to events, so we think it is fitting that we knock a few more things of his bucket list,” Spear stated in a Facebook post on July 16.
JIMMY DEAN continued on page 8
Jimmy Dean, a 14-year-old dog recently diagnosed with cancer, gets to be a firefighter for the day at Daisy Mountain Fire Department's Station 146 in New River. (Photo by Tara Alatorre/Staff)
OTHER :
MONSOONS:
ARIZONA:
CAVE CREEK
Dry heat is delaying Arizona's
Life jacket exchanges available
Cave Creek Town Council
• Bluhm Column
start of summer rains
at lakes across the state
passes $30 million budget
• Service Directory
15
Page 3
Page 10
Page 11
• Classified Ads
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