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Supervisors praise emergency response; county reports Motorola radio upgrades and fairgrounds progress
Summary
Board members and county staff commended firefighters, search-and-rescue and county crews for recent wildfire response, and Manager Welker updated the board on Motorola radio upgrades, fairgrounds paving and chip-seal roadwork.
Graham County supervisors on May 19 publicly thanked firefighters, county staff and volunteers for their response to a recent wildfire and heard updates on ongoing communications and infrastructure work.
County Manager Welker summarized emergency operations: the county opened emergency cooling stations, coordinated search-and-rescue and door-knocking, and worked closely with state crews and neighboring fire districts. He singled out county highway crews and named local partners including Fort Thomas Fire and state crews for their roles in protecting property.
Welker described the fire behavior and its strain on local resources: wind-driven flames that jumped some firebreaks and forced aggressive response in affected neighborhoods. Supervisors and staff credited timely communication and “boots on the ground” search-and-rescue efforts for limiting damage.
On communications, Welker said the county is near completion of a Motorola radio upgrade project — about 98% complete — and that technicians were on-site this week to test countywide radio coverage and identify remaining signal holes. He said weekly coordination meetings include county, local fire chiefs, and law enforcement to resolve remaining equipment issues.
Welker provided project updates at the fairgrounds (paving of a first parking lot by a Department of Corrections paving crew and work on the east parking area) and said conceptual master-plan drafts from consultant Bowman are expected in July. He also reported the highway department’s chip-seal program is progressing on listed county roads and should wrap up in two to three weeks.
Supervisors used the moment to express appreciation for volunteer and paid responders and for internal coordination across county departments during the incident. No formal action or policy changes were taken at the meeting; the remarks were informational and commendatory.
