Firewise

Forest Lakes Fire District (FLFD) has received a grant from the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management (ADFFM) to assist our property owners with the cost of removing hazardous fuels from their properties according to Firewise standards. Our grant covers benefits for 50 1-acre lots. We submitted the 50 early applicant lots and owner names to State Forestry, and they have approved our list.

Owners will receive a 90% reimbursement from FLFD, up to a total of $2250 per lot (90% of $2500 maximum reimbursable cost per 1-acre lot). Then FLFD will be reimbursed through the grant. Please note that it may cost some property owners more than $2500 to treat their property in accordance with Firewise standards. General landscape maintenance such as mowing, regular trimming, or leaf/needle raking does not qualify for reimbursement.

- Example: A property owner arranges with FLFD for a Firewise assessment, which marks the trees that are not to be removed. Then the owner agrees with a contractor to remove the unmarked trees for $3000. After the work is completed and approved by FLFD the owner receives a check from FLFD for $2250 (90% of the $2500 grant maximum). The owner is responsible for the remaining $750 payment to the contractor.

The property owners included in the grant plan should contact FLFD to discuss their individual lot assessment and establish fuels reduction plans. Once the individual plan is approved, each owner will schedule the work with their chosen contractor. We are still developing our recommended contractor list, and we hope to have an Arizona Department of Corrections crew available again next year to provide high-quality work that is attractively priced.

If you are not on our initial list of 50 property owners, contact john@jnservices.net, and we will put you on our backup list and will contact you if one of the planned owners does not follow through with treating their lot. We will prioritize high-hazard lots. There is a good chance that additional owners will have an opportunity to participate. There is also a possibility that we can receive additional grant funding for 2022. We will keep you posted as we proceed with the project over the next 2 years.

Our goal is to have as many Forest Lakes lots as possible meet Firewise standards, which is generally about 70 trees per acre. Our Firewise assessments include recommendations for structure considerations. Grant recipients are expected to maintain properties in future years by trimming shrubs and removing needles or other flammable debris. Our Green Waste Transfer Station just north of the community is the ideal place to take slash, needles, and logs.

The US Forest Service has been working diligently to make our surrounding forests less prone to wildfire. We owe it to them to do our part!