Get ready, get set, a fire could be on the way in Silver City

March 04--SILVER CITY -- March 7 is the three-year anniversary of the Quail Ridge Fire that burned 13 homes, 47 other structures and almost 1,800 acres just south of Silver City. That fire cost the city and the state more than $300,000.

To honor the anniversary of that fire, the Silver City Neighborhood Alliance is hosting a Preparedness Symposium on Friday and Saturday to encourage Grant County residents to get ready for what could be a catastrophic fire season.

"Our fire season used to start in April or May," Grant County Fire Management Officer Randy Villa said. "Now it's starting in January."

Due to the on-going drought and the close proximity of homes to the forest, Silver City is particularly vulnerable for a major fire, according to Villa.

Kathy Anderson, president of the Silver City Neighborhood Alliance, agrees and strongly believes Silver City residents are in danger.

"We're going to get hit by a fire one of these days that's going to take somebody's life," Anderson said.

It's because of the Quail Ridge Fire that Anderson is organizing the symposium.

"I went to the evacuation center to see if I could help," Anderson said, remembering that time. "I spent years in Alaska, where you have to be prepared for anything. But we weren't ready for that event, we weren't ready to evacuate all those people."

The symposium will feature a smorgasbord of speakers, including Villa, Silver City Fire Marshal Milo Lambert, and Bayard Fire Chief Joe Chavez, among many others.

Villa said his department is doing what it can to prepare for the upcoming fire season, but admitted that the county has not put fire restrictions in place yet. Villa, however, said the volunteer fire chiefs in the area are working on a countywide protection plan and he is currently applying for a grant from the New Mexico Association of Counties for money to support fuel reduction and fire education. He also commended Chavez for being responsible for creating a website, grantcountyfire.com, where residents can go to learn about the fire department services in the Grant County area.

But Anderson believes the county is not doing enough to get ready for the possibility of a devastating blaze.

"People have to start taking steps," Anderson said. "People have to think about doing business differently based on the increased risk of wildfires."

Which is, in part, what the symposium is about. Residents will be able to learn about how to make homes defensible in the event of a fire. One of the panel discussions is called, "Fire-smart Housing, New and Retrofitted" and speakers will discuss both building materials as well as insurance trends and plants to put in around the home that can help protect it in the event a fire comes too close.

"The fires we're seeing these days are capable of creating a whorl, similar to a tornado," Anderson said. "The fire itself forms into a dust devil due to the increased turbulence, the increased drought and the dryness of fuels."

The symposium will address other neighborhood issues, as well, including dealing with loss in the event of a fire, sustaining food supplies in the event of a catastrophe, crime prevention and food seed issues. The keynote speaker will be Don Scott, Response and Recovery Bureau chief of the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for the state of New Mexico and the event is sponsored by the Freeport McMoRan/Grant County Community Health Council Community Enhancement Fund and WNMU; Western Bank, First Insurance and Walmart also made donations toward the event and a host of businesses throughout the area provided in-kind donations so attendees can receive free door prizes.

"As fire fighters, we do our part," Villa said. "But the community has to as well. That's the only way we can stop a catastrophic fire."

Susan Dunlap can be reached at 575-538-5893 ext. 5803.

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