Fire officials need a better clearer message, and they need to work with HOA leaders station by station.
AZ has TONS of Homeowners Associations, with thousands of rules. Many members are fearful of breaking the rules – and one big one is the edict not to “mess with the natural vegetation”… which is easily misunderstood.
There are thousands of homeowners that believe that clearing this fuel is prohibited by the CC&R’s of their HOA… and probably countless HOA administrators that would fine those members if they caught them “cleaning up” the desert areas around them, claiming that the dried vegetation IS NATURAL DESERT that should BE PRESERVED.
It is illegal to “groom” natural desert… similar to “forest thinning” that has been a debate for many years in our forests (by the way… AZ has plenty of “national forests” that are really not what most folks would understand as anything but sand and rock)… we just call them “forests”, because that is the federal label.
If fire officials want to get the word out — and they should — then get the HOA’s to send out announcements to their members, and create planned activities to clean up “the right stuff” in their neighborhood, without penalizing their members, or claiming they cleaned up things that WEREN’T intended. People tend to leave things alone, unless they’re sure that doing something won’t get them into trouble. Lazy… yes… but let’s solve the problem facing reality, rather than condemn humans for what they are.
I\’m an inspector in the state\’s largest municipality. I know of cases where HOAs and individuals have been cited by said municipality for \”destroying natural habitat\” in violation of that municipality\’s Zoning ordinance.
The residents were just trying to do what they felt they needed to do to protect their homes. One of the problems is there is so much regulation any more, if you follow one entity\’s rules you\’re oft time violating anothers.
As a life long Arizona resident and having been raised in a forest community, I know and respect the power of fire in the urban/wildland interface as it\’s called these days. Homeowner\’s should be allowed to follow the recommendations such as those in the \”Homeowners\’ Firewise Guide for Arizona\” if they feel their homes are threatened, Planning and Zoning administrators be damned … they\’re delving into an area where they have no expertise or understanding and are going to get someone hurt.
For those who refuse to help save their homes let them be the last the fire department service if there is a fire.
An insurance company may be able to pay for a new home but no amount of money in the world can bring back a dead son, daughter, mother, or father.
Fire officials need a better clearer message, and they need to work with HOA leaders station by station.
AZ has TONS of Homeowners Associations, with thousands of rules. Many members are fearful of breaking the rules – and one big one is the edict not to “mess with the natural vegetation”… which is easily misunderstood.
There are thousands of homeowners that believe that clearing this fuel is prohibited by the CC&R’s of their HOA… and probably countless HOA administrators that would fine those members if they caught them “cleaning up” the desert areas around them, claiming that the dried vegetation IS NATURAL DESERT that should BE PRESERVED.
It is illegal to “groom” natural desert… similar to “forest thinning” that has been a debate for many years in our forests (by the way… AZ has plenty of “national forests” that are really not what most folks would understand as anything but sand and rock)… we just call them “forests”, because that is the federal label.
If fire officials want to get the word out — and they should — then get the HOA’s to send out announcements to their members, and create planned activities to clean up “the right stuff” in their neighborhood, without penalizing their members, or claiming they cleaned up things that WEREN’T intended. People tend to leave things alone, unless they’re sure that doing something won’t get them into trouble. Lazy… yes… but let’s solve the problem facing reality, rather than condemn humans for what they are.
I\’m an inspector in the state\’s largest municipality. I know of cases where HOAs and individuals have been cited by said municipality for \”destroying natural habitat\” in violation of that municipality\’s Zoning ordinance.
The residents were just trying to do what they felt they needed to do to protect their homes. One of the problems is there is so much regulation any more, if you follow one entity\’s rules you\’re oft time violating anothers.
As a life long Arizona resident and having been raised in a forest community, I know and respect the power of fire in the urban/wildland interface as it\’s called these days. Homeowner\’s should be allowed to follow the recommendations such as those in the \”Homeowners\’ Firewise Guide for Arizona\” if they feel their homes are threatened, Planning and Zoning administrators be damned … they\’re delving into an area where they have no expertise or understanding and are going to get someone hurt.