Carefree Truth
Issue #763, July 8, 2019
Rural/Metro (R/M) and Maricopa County (MC) presented emergency preparedness information in the Carefree Council Chambers on June 27th. Carefree Fire Chief John Kraetz represented R/M. Mike Winners with Emergency Management, Erin King with Emergency Management Outreach, and Ellen (did not provide a last name) with the Flood Control District represented MC. Mr. Winners did not speak. Chief Kraetz opened the meeting by asking those presenters from Maricopa County to introduce themselves.
Issue #763, July 8, 2019
Rural/Metro (R/M) and Maricopa County (MC) presented emergency preparedness information in the Carefree Council Chambers on June 27th. Carefree Fire Chief John Kraetz represented R/M. Mike Winners with Emergency Management, Erin King with Emergency Management Outreach, and Ellen (did not provide a last name) with the Flood Control District represented MC. Mr. Winners did not speak. Chief Kraetz opened the meeting by asking those presenters from Maricopa County to introduce themselves.
Chief John Kraetz
Photo by Herbert Hitchon
Photo by Herbert Hitchon
Erin King
Photo by Herbert Hitchon
Erin noted that the fire season has begun. We should all be prepared for the monsoon season which can bring thunder and lightning storms, floods, fires, and power outages. She began by talking about preparedness at home. If there is a major disaster, either natural or man made, 1st responders might not be able to get to you for days and utilities could be down for days. Your goal should be the ability to survive in your home without assistance or utilities for 72 hours, and to be able to communicate with family or friends outside of your home to let them know you are OK or that you need help.
If the power is out, land lines will not work, so keep cell phones charged at all times. You should also set up in advance a place where you can go in the event that you are unable to stay in your house, ie: with family, friends, or at a nearby shelter. The closest official shelter to Carefree is the Desert Broom Library, located at 29710 N. Cave Creek Rd, just south of Tatum Blvd.
Keep a "Go Bag" with least 3 days worth of non-perishable food items that your family is willing to eat, and consider special dietary needs. Stock canned and dry mix foods that do not require refrigeration, cooking, water, or special preparation. Avoid foods that make you thirsty. Have a manual can opener, plates, cups, and eating utensils with these foods. Your regular source of clean drinking water may be cut off or contaminated. Store at least 1 gallon of water per person per day. Individual needs vary depending on age, health, etc. Commercially bottled water is recommended. Keep it in the original container, unopened, and store it in a cool, dark place. Observe the expiration dates of both the food and the water. In the case of an evacuation, water will probably be available where you are going.
Vital medications should be kept within easy reach and/or stored in the Go Bag. Have extra clothes and hygiene items on hand. Keep copies of important documents, a battery operated radio, flashlights, moist towelettes, plastic garbage bags, a small tool kit, and a First Aid kit in your Go Bag. Make sure the batteries work. Do not forget about your kids' and pets' needs as well. Have activities for you and the kids that don't require utilities, and toys/blankets for pets, as well as their pet food and water. You should always have several hundred dollars in small bills. If power is out, credit cards and ATMs will be useless. Make sure your gas tank is full, since gas pumps will not work either.
Talk about it as a family and have a plan. Make sure all of your household members can get official local emergency alerts. Plan on how to communicate if you are not together should disaster strike. If forced to evacuate, decide on safe, familiar places to go for protection or to reunite such as a library, community center, place of worship, or the home of a family member or friend. If you are out of town, make sure everyone knows the address of where to meet and how to get there. If you have pets, know about animal friendly locations. Practice your plan like you would a fire drill. Make it fun for the kids. Identify an out-of-town individual to notify about your condition, and share that number with out-of-town family and friends.
A retired local TV reporter stressed the importance of being willing and able to help your neighbors who might be more fragile due to age or health issues. It was pointed out that Foothills Caring Corps looks out for approximately 3000 at-risk people in the area. Chief Kraetz said he meets FCC Executive Director, Debbra Determan, regularly. There are brochures in the kiosk by the front door at the Carefree Fire Station about how to care for the elderly during an emergency. The retired reporter also highly recommended MC's www.ReadyMaricop.gov website and app that can help you prepare for a disaster. A tremendous amount of resources are available there. She also recommended joining Next Door. Chief Kraetz added that he, all of his folks, and all of the 1st responders have that app on their phones. An audience member downloaded it during this discussion and said it was very easy to do. All pertinent information, including state and local, is also shared on Maricopa County's Emergency Management website and social media. ADOT constantly updates street closures. R/M is hooked into both agencies.
An audience member expressed concern for her horses in the event of a fire. Chief Kraetz said in the event of a major fire, all the news and social media would light up with the information, getting out the warning. He explained that all the firefighters have time to do is open the corral gates and let horses go. But groups can be found online that help horse owners prepare for disasters and/or help them find their animals afterward. He suggested using a paint pen to write your name and phone # towards the top of the hooves, or weaving a luggage tag with that information into the horse's mane or the at the base of the tail. Horses, if released, can outrun a fire unless it's a complete disaster, and they know to run away from fire.
An audience member questioned the speed at which a fire could advance. The Chief said he has been involved with fires that have moved up to 45 mph., which brought him to the next topic he had planned to discuss. He stressed the importance of each homeowner protecting themselves by creating a defensible perimeter around their house of at least 30'. Remove all brush, do not store firewood by the house, and clear the gutters/eaves. Bushes can super-heat in an approaching fire and catch fire, setting cluttered eaves on fire and burning down the house. The desert is full of Globe Camomile, the tiny yellow flowers that were everywhere this spring and that now look like dried weeds with yellow tops. He said each of those yellow heads are like 1000 match heads. He cleared them from his property and has a wide defensible perimeter. His neighbor has Globe Camomile all over his yard. In the event of a fire, Chief Kraetz' house will survive. His neighbor's will burn.
From 30'-100', trim trees to 10' between the ground and where the branches begin, or bushes on fire will communicate it onto the tree. Keep trees at least 10' apart. Trees that look green and beautiful on irrigation quickly turn brown and burn. Make sure that trees are trimmed back from power lines. If you want privacy, plant clumps of not more than 3 trees, then another clump a bit away from it, rather than planting a line of trees. Desert hardy plants are much less likely to communicate fire if spaced apart. He suggested that people keep a garden hose attached to an outside hose bib so that they can help keep a fire away from the house. Even the R/M firefighters have been known to use them at times.
An audience member asked if a swimming pool and a gas powered pump would help in the event of low water pressure. Chief Kraetz said the set up takes too long. R/M carries thousands of gallons of water on their trucks. They have learned to be "water wise", so they make that water in the tanks last for a long time, then can fill up faster from the fire hydrants, many of which are gravity fed and don't depend on local water pressure, than they can fill up from pools using pumps. Always know 2 ways out of your neighborhood and the designated evacuation route for your area. For Carefree, that route is Carefree Hwy to I-17 North. In the event of an evacuation, all the lanes on
I-17 will be directed northbound.
An audience member asked if there is a Carefree Town Code requiring neighbors to remove brush from their property. Chief Kraetz said he didn't know of any community with that Ordinance. Councilman Vince D'Aliesio commented that some HOAs have requirements, but they are mostly for beautification purposes. He agreed that it is a matter of responsible homeownership to remove the dried brush. Someone pointed out that there are many second homes and vacant lots here, and those people might not even be aware of the issues with the brush. The Chief said the time to take care of it is in February, March and April, not in June.
Chief Kraetz was asked if people should jump in their pool if a fire were coming. He said the best thing to do is shelter inside the house with all doors and windows closed and the AC off to keep the smoke and fire out of your house. Although Carefree and Cave Creek have one fire engine each, R/M is a partner in the Mutual Aid Compact, so can draw on resources from all over the Valley. In our small community, a fire truck is never far away, so stay indoors and they will get to you.
Maricopa County has the Emergency Alert System (EAS). If you sign up for it on their website, an alert will automatically be send to your phone if something is happening in your area.
An audience member expressed concern about people throwing cigarette butts out of car windows or discarding them when out on "health walks". Chief Kraetz acknowledged that it is very annoying to see, but said it's incredibly hard to start a fire with a cigarette butt. Most man made fires in this area are started with sparks generated from trailers dragging chains or from people grinding metal while building a corral out behind their house who are wearing a welding hood and don't hear the fire. There have already been 5 or 6 fires in the area caused by those sparks so far this spring.
Ellen
Photo by Herbert Hitchon
Next, Ellen from the Flood Control District spoke about flooding. She stressed the importance of clearing debris out of the washes. If not cleared, it will wash downstream and create blockages that increase flooding. This monsoon season is predicted to start drier and later due to the cooler winter, but will end wetter. An active hurricane season coming from the Pacific is anticipated, similar to the last couple of years. After conducting a study, a flood response plan was put in place for this area several years ago. You can go onto the emergency flood control website, www.FCD.Maricopa.gov to watch the rain and stream gauges, and the interactive map that shows low lying road areas where washes run. Typically, there are no evacuations for floods around here. In most places, if you wait an hour or two, the water will recede enough for you to get out.
Chief Kraetz stressed that if you come to a flooded road, do NOT attempt to cross it. "Turn around, don't drown", is R/M's key phrase. Too many times, his men risk their lives to rescue people who tried to cross flooded streets and became trapped in their vehicles. It is a conscious decision to drive through flooded washes, and the firemen don't appreciate the risks they have to take to carry out these rescues. While there may be 6" of water on the street, there can be 24" within seconds if the water is coming down the wash. Please err on the side of safety. Often during floods, you can't see the road. There can be debris under the water or the road could be washed out entirely. A law called "The Stupid Motorist Law" means that if you drive around a barricade to cross a flooded road, you will be paying for your rescue, and it's not cheap. Others pointed out that the Cave Creek Wash can run high for several days, and people who live behind it are stranded, so always prepare for the worst case scenario. Ellen added that it only takes 6" of rapidly running water to sweep people off their feet, 12" to wash away a small vehicle, and 24" to wash away a large truck or SUV.
Ellen said power could be lost during a flood, in which case all the advise already shared about power outages earlier in the meeting applies. She also said their website could be checked to see if your home is on a floodplain. If it is, and even if it isn't, she encouraged people to buy flood insurance. It is not expensive, and provides another layer of protection. If you have flood insurance and have damage, make a list and take pictures of all the damaged items for your insurance agent. Chief Kraetz said his mother didn't have flood insurance. She lost her home in Camp Verde and everything in it last February when there were heavy rains, and she didn't get a penny from her regular homeowners insurance.
Councilman D'Aliesio suggested that people sign up to receive Carefree COINS by going into Town Hall or signing up online at www.carefree.org to stay current with what's happening in our immediate community. The Town also has social media sites that can be checked during emergencies.
An audience member asked about an article in the Sonoran News. Chief Kraetz said the article was totally wrong and that R/M was sending out a rebuttal. Carefree has a town-wide contract with R/M, so if a firetruck comes to your house for a medical emergency, it is covered by that contract and you will not be billed. Cave Creek does not have a contract with R/M, so if a fire truck comes and you are not an individual subscriber, you will be charged. Per Arizona state law, all ambulance rides are billed. Most health insurance plans cover ambulance rides, but they do not cover fire trucks coming to the house for medical emergencies.
(Lyn;s note: After attending this meeting, we had our landscapers clear an even larger defensible barrier around our entire house, and we bought a couple of extra garden hoses at ACE.)
Below is the video of the entire presentation by Rural/Metro and Maricopa County, along with the links to the brochures they had on site covering monsoon storms, power outages, and wildfires.
https://www.maricopa.gov/Search?searchPhrase=monsoon+storms
https://www.maricopa.gov/Search?searchPhrase=power%20outages
https://www.maricopa.gov/Search?searchPhrase=wildfires
Photo by Herbert Hitchon
Next, Ellen from the Flood Control District spoke about flooding. She stressed the importance of clearing debris out of the washes. If not cleared, it will wash downstream and create blockages that increase flooding. This monsoon season is predicted to start drier and later due to the cooler winter, but will end wetter. An active hurricane season coming from the Pacific is anticipated, similar to the last couple of years. After conducting a study, a flood response plan was put in place for this area several years ago. You can go onto the emergency flood control website, www.FCD.Maricopa.gov to watch the rain and stream gauges, and the interactive map that shows low lying road areas where washes run. Typically, there are no evacuations for floods around here. In most places, if you wait an hour or two, the water will recede enough for you to get out.
Chief Kraetz stressed that if you come to a flooded road, do NOT attempt to cross it. "Turn around, don't drown", is R/M's key phrase. Too many times, his men risk their lives to rescue people who tried to cross flooded streets and became trapped in their vehicles. It is a conscious decision to drive through flooded washes, and the firemen don't appreciate the risks they have to take to carry out these rescues. While there may be 6" of water on the street, there can be 24" within seconds if the water is coming down the wash. Please err on the side of safety. Often during floods, you can't see the road. There can be debris under the water or the road could be washed out entirely. A law called "The Stupid Motorist Law" means that if you drive around a barricade to cross a flooded road, you will be paying for your rescue, and it's not cheap. Others pointed out that the Cave Creek Wash can run high for several days, and people who live behind it are stranded, so always prepare for the worst case scenario. Ellen added that it only takes 6" of rapidly running water to sweep people off their feet, 12" to wash away a small vehicle, and 24" to wash away a large truck or SUV.
Ellen said power could be lost during a flood, in which case all the advise already shared about power outages earlier in the meeting applies. She also said their website could be checked to see if your home is on a floodplain. If it is, and even if it isn't, she encouraged people to buy flood insurance. It is not expensive, and provides another layer of protection. If you have flood insurance and have damage, make a list and take pictures of all the damaged items for your insurance agent. Chief Kraetz said his mother didn't have flood insurance. She lost her home in Camp Verde and everything in it last February when there were heavy rains, and she didn't get a penny from her regular homeowners insurance.
Councilman D'Aliesio suggested that people sign up to receive Carefree COINS by going into Town Hall or signing up online at www.carefree.org to stay current with what's happening in our immediate community. The Town also has social media sites that can be checked during emergencies.
An audience member asked about an article in the Sonoran News. Chief Kraetz said the article was totally wrong and that R/M was sending out a rebuttal. Carefree has a town-wide contract with R/M, so if a firetruck comes to your house for a medical emergency, it is covered by that contract and you will not be billed. Cave Creek does not have a contract with R/M, so if a fire truck comes and you are not an individual subscriber, you will be charged. Per Arizona state law, all ambulance rides are billed. Most health insurance plans cover ambulance rides, but they do not cover fire trucks coming to the house for medical emergencies.
(Lyn;s note: After attending this meeting, we had our landscapers clear an even larger defensible barrier around our entire house, and we bought a couple of extra garden hoses at ACE.)
Below is the video of the entire presentation by Rural/Metro and Maricopa County, along with the links to the brochures they had on site covering monsoon storms, power outages, and wildfires.
https://www.maricopa.gov/Search?searchPhrase=monsoon+storms
https://www.maricopa.gov/Search?searchPhrase=power%20outages
https://www.maricopa.gov/Search?searchPhrase=wildfires
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
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