A Letter from Hillary Hirche, PVPOA President

To all PVPOA Residents and Friends,

As we can see by the smoke today, the winds have shifted and brought us an even stronger reminder of the our relationship to the forest and how it can change in an instant. Those who were here for the fire in our area in 2006 remember what a scary time that was for everyone. While we did not live in PV then, we lived a very short distance away off Lee Mountain Rd, and vividly remember the choking smoke that went on for days, and the flames we could see just at the end of Lee Mountain Rd. 

This is a great time to be sure that you are as prepared as you can be with the coming wildfire season. It’s critical to create defensible space around your house by clearing trees and brush away from the immediate area. There is a great article here : http://www.readyforwildfire.org/defensible_space/ from Cal Fire about how to create and maintain this space around your home.

In addition if you have not signed up for “CODE RED” you should do so asap. Code Red is a nationwide alert system that is used locally to alert you in times of emergency, this can be fires, floods, or severe thunderstorms etc. You will get a text or phone call to your phone as well as an email if you choose. You can sign up athttp://www.ycsoaz.gov, click the “emergency notification” tab at the top of the page and the “click here to sign up” near the bottom of the page.

Lastly if you are curious about what to do in the case of an evacuation or how that all works you can see a discussion from a Fire Incident Commander and YCSO Captain in a You Tube video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7o005bX6KU&list=UU8vLz-CyKjgZvN2eP-wJjvQ

We hope that we never have to evacuate or deal with the type of uncertainty our neighbors to the north are currently having to deal with, but being prepared truly is the best defense.

Be safe, stay out of the smoke and stay home if you can.
Best Regards
Hillary Hirche,
PVPOA President