FIRE SAFETY MEETING RECAP

Hi neighbors:

Here's a recap of the meeting Monday night. Thank you to everyone who attended and participated; some 40 neighbors joined together to discuss fire safety, firescaping and evacuation procedures. We also collected over $100 in donations for Paul & Cara, our neighbors at 24 Cresta Pequena, to help tide them over while they are waiting for their insurance to kick in. We are fortunate to live in such a generous and compassionate community.

Meeting Highlights:

1. ARPOA business:
No more road work until we get some rain and more dues payments. The road is degrading quickly due to lack of moisture; a heavy rain like the one we had last July that washed out parts of the road will likely cause extensive damage. We all use the road, we all have to pay for the road's upkeep. If you haven't paid anything yet, please do so now. If you have paid for Spring, you can go ahead and send in your Fall dues now too. Please don't wait until the end of the year to send in your dues; the road is going to need it before then.

Phone tree discussion: If you want to be included on a robocall list for evacuation in the event of emergency, please email me all your phone numbers (landline, cell phone, work phone). The robocall system is not perfect but the county has encouraged us to have our own system of notification. The county is expecting to upgrade its notification system but there are many flaws that need to be worked out. In the meantime we need to be able to contact each other in the event of a wildfire. Please note: the board is composed of neighbors like you; we are neither professionals nor employees, and we strongly encourage all residents to have your own Plan B in the event of an emergency situation. Residents of the side roads were strongly encouraged to have a "captain" for each road to take responsibility for contacting the other residents. If you want to volunteer to take on that role for your neighbors, please contact me so I can give you contact info for your neighbors.

Annual clean-up reminder: This weekend, June 17-18, self-directed road clean-up to minimize fire danger along the road. Please trim out low branches or branches that impede the edge of the road, collect dead branches and brush and trash. NOTE: BRUSH PILES ARE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR USE AS PROPERTY MARKERS ALONG THE ROAD. PLEASE REPLACE THEM WITH ROCKS, SINGLE LOGS, RAILROAD TIES, ETC. BRUSH PILES ARE BONFIRES WAITING TO HAPPEN.

NON-RESIDENTS: PLEASE TAKE SOME TIME TO MAINTAIN YOUR PROPERTY! Out of sight/out of mind may be the way you think about your parcel in Apache Ridge, but we drive by those open spaces every day and see the vast numbers of dead and downed trees and the illegal dumping that has been going on in there. YOU are responsible for your property whether you live there or not.

2. 24 Cresta Pequena owner Paul Groetzinger spoke to the neighbors about losing the home and the dogs he and his fiancee Cara Levick shared to fire on June 3, while he was in Europe and she was at work in town. He expressed his gratitude to everyone, including those who helped fight the fire and those who have offered help and support to them.

Reading from a prepared 3rd person statement, he detailed what the fire inspectors finally determined: rags used with a flax-based eco-friendly furniture oil had been appropriately soaked in water for several days before being discarded in a plastic garbage can on their deck; after 2 weeks in the sun, the rags eventually spontaneously combusted, igniting the deck and eventually the house. Most of his musical instruments were safe in a shed, but everything else was lost. Their homeowner's insurance will eventually be covering both their temporary rental and their rebuilding costs, and meanwhile they are extremely grateful for all the support they have gotten from the neighborhood. Paul and the neighbors were all visibly moved by this retelling; we were all grateful to have the information and to express our support to Paul and Cara.

3. County Commissioner Kathy Holian spoke briefly in thanks to Hondo 2 for their swift response all over the county to the recent spate of wildfires. She also said the BuRRT Transfer Station--the dump on Buckman Road--is offering FREE DISPOSAL for GREEN WASTE (brush, leaves, tree limbs and plant matter) on SATURDAY JUNE 25 in the interest of FIRE SAFETY. So if you are doing more firescaping on your property and want to haul it to the north end of town without having to have your dump pass punched, that's the day to do it.

4. Lone Pine Spur resident Casey Ryan spoke briefly about ordinary everyday fire emergencies he's experienced that are not necessarily the big wildfires we are worried about: cars, powerlines, manure piles, etc spontaneously combusting, hit by lightning or ignited by sparks from chainsaws or other equipment. Casey sells a firefighting foam called Novacool that can be sprayed on vehicles, trees and homes with no environmental damage to protect against impending fire or put out small fires quickly. For more information on Casey's product, please contact him directly www.swfirefightingfoam.com

5. SF County Office of Emergency Management Director Martin Vigil spoke about about preparedness and evacuation procedures. His main words of advice were to NOT WAIT for an evacuation order if you are aware of a fire nearby, but to get out while there is still opportunity to go. He said the county is upgrading its notification system but it was best for us to have our own way of contacting each other in event of emergency. He also said the firefighting foam was a good product but to not rely on it in lieu of the fire crew, and it was best to let the professionals do what they do best and stay out of their way (which Casey agreed with). In the event Apache Ridge Road is blocked or residents can't get out, he recommended finding an open space to stay put in and to stay in contact with the authorities so they can come and protect the space. (We are working on locating a suitable space in the neighborhood that might suffice.)

He also suggested the ONE THING each resident could do now: sit down with family members and discuss emergency planning. Beyond that: make a list of things you would need to take in event of evacuation; keep a duffle bag handy that you can fill with those things; bring clothing, food, water and sleeping gear if you think you will be directed to a Red Cross Shelter (the Rodeo Grounds is our designated shelter); don't forget your pets and their food, laptop and phones and chargers, important papers, etc. Handouts on these issues are available from OEM: MARTIN VIGIL, OEM: 992-3072.

6. Hondo Chief Tom Chilton noted that Commissioner Holian, who has attended all our neighborhood meetings for the last three years, is the first Commissioner to come to the fire crew and ask what the county can do for them. We are lucky to have such a proactive and accessible commissioner!

He also talked about the similarities of terrain between the Arizona Wallow Fire and Apache Ridge, which of course scared everyone. He said the Hondo crew recently went to Mariposa Stables on Hwy 285 to put out a manure fire; he urged horse owners to keep their manure pile AWAY FROM GRASSES. Manure piles will burn low and slow, but grass is fast-burning fuel, and if your manure stores butt up against dry grasses, a small smolder can easily get out of hand. He also talked about water availability, and noted that his trucks have a large capacity to bring their own water to fires, but they do have to restock sometimes during a fire. Other risks include old or uninsulated power lines that touch each other, causing sparks; trees or branches that impact power lines; low branches that touch dried grasses that could help spread fire; brush piles; etc.

7. Wildland Urban Interface Specialist Krys Nystrom from the SFCounty Fire Dept. operated the Sim Table, a 3-D display showing how fires that start in different parts of the neighborhood would travel, and how quickly. She noted the risk assessment she did two years ago on each house in the neighborhood; links to those assessments on the Santa Fe County Wildlands Dept. website have been included in the last 2 newsletters. You can find your house and the Fire Dept's assessment of risk. You can call Ms. Nystrom for a visit to your property to show you exactly where your risk is and what needs to be done to reduce your risk.

She also mentioned the Forest Service grants that could provide assistance to homeowners for removing hazardous fuels; with these grants, the Forest Service would come in and remove the dead trees and thin out overgrowth, chip the cuttings and leave you firewood if you want it. The grant could potentially cover up to 80% of the costs; the homeowner would be responsible for 20% of the cost. WE DISCUSSED THIS ISSUE 2 YEARS AGO BUT GOT A LOT OF PUSHBACK FROM SOME RESIDENTS ON THE UPPER HALF OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHO DID NOT WANT THE FIRE DEPT. THINNING THEIR TREES. NOTE THAT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY WOULD HAVE TO PARTICIPATE IN A GRANT PROGRAM LIKE THIS; THEY WILL NOT PROVIDE SERVICES TO INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY OWNERS. The only way Apache Ridge could take advantage of federal funds to help clean out the high-risk hazardous fuels throughout the neighborhood is if EVERY RESIDENT signs on.

Anyone who wants to spearhead another attempt at convincing all residents to join a program like this, please email me. (Also note: Krys will be replacing Greg Gallegos as point-person for the hazardous fuels removal program continuing on the state land parcel in the center of the neighborhood).

Thanks again to everyone who attended and participated; it was a lively and informative meeting and, as always, a good opportunity to meet our neighbors and make plans for helping each other out.

~candelora
Candelora Versace, Apache Ridge Property Owners Association
ARPOAboard@gmail.com ~www.arpoa.blogspot.com
2011 Board: Candelora Versace, Kristin Ryan, Gustav Kocsis, Michael Jerry, Tim Davis and Booth Gallett
ARPOA, 44 Apache Ridge Rd, SF NM 87505