By Holt Bodinson, Oracle Firewise
Here’s a unique opportunity to learn how to better protect your and your neighbors’ properties from the constant threat posed by wildfires. The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management is hosting a free, two-day, hands-on workshop to train and certify local residents as Firewise Communities Assessors on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 20-21, at Constitution Hall in Kearny. All residents in the Copper Corridor are invited and, indeed, encouraged to attend.
The goal of the assessor workshop is to provide community volunteers with the most up-to-date information and methods available for evaluating a home’s survivability in the face of a wildfire as well as a survey of improvements homeowners can make to better prepare and protect their properties.
Topics covered in the 2-day course will include wildfire behavior, the role of topography, building materials, design and subsequent fire risk, fire department access, vegetation control and the creation of defensible space around homes and out-buildings plus case studies of recent wildfires and their effects on homes in the West.
The second day of the course will be spent in the field, applying the knowledge gained in the classroom to the evaluation of a variety of local properties while making recommendations to the owners for improving and hardening their homes against wildfire threats.
At the end of the course, participants will be qualified to evaluate properties for community Firewise programs and be registered by the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management as certified Firewise Communities Assessors.
To register for the free workshop, please call or e-mail Arizona Firewise District Coordinator, Mayra Moreno, at 520-628-5487 or mmoreno@dffm.az.gov.