Thursday, August 12, 2010

Catchin' up...

I've been a real slacker! Can't believe it's been almost two months since my last post here! Well, during that time, we had a severe forest fire in the San Francisco peaks about a mile from us (aka, Shultz Fire), followed by flash flooding, roads washing out... I have to give kudos to a host of agencies who really put themselves out to deal with all of this! Our firefighters, forest service, county agencies, law enforcement, search and rescue, were right on top of things working to help evacuate us and get control of the fire. Then when the floods hit from some severe monsoon storms, the utilities and public works folks were there, as well as neighbors with equipment to dig trenches to divert flood waters, and countless volunteers from the community who filled sand bags, and again the county, particularly our County Supervisors Liz Archuleta, and Mandy Metzger and their staffs, who kept us informed daily on conditions and what services were available; and most recently, the Coconino County Public Works folks who came out and repaired severe erosion on our roads, even though we live on roads not normally maintained by the county. This is local government at its best, responding to the needs of the community, and I want to again thank them all for the incredible jobs they did, working long and hard to help folks whose homes and property were in jeopardy.
I think all of us who live in this area know that we have several more years to get through before the forest growth takes hold and flooding will subside, but I for one am encouraged by the efforts that have been made on our behalf so far, and I have hope that we will get through this a lot better than I originally anticipated. Thanks to all who pitched in for us!