Pima County presents regional wildfire mitigation plan, calls for prevention, fuels work and coordinated response

Pima County officials on May 6 presented a draft countywide wildfire mitigation plan that centers on three goals — prevention and public education, fuel mitigation and vegetation control, and emergency response coordination — and asks the Board of Supervisors to back a programmatic approach that leans on partners across fire districts, state agencies and community groups.

The plan, prepared by county administration staff and informed by workshops with the Pima County Fire Chiefs Association and other partners, says actions should include shared public information resources, a centralized digital “depository” for prevention materials, expanded invasive-grass (buffelgrass) control, incentives and pilots for innovative fuels treatments such as targeted grazing, and clearer pre-identified evacuation logistics and water sources for firefighting.

“Today’s briefing provides an introduction to the proposed wildfire mitigation plan,” county staffer Marie Vasquez told the board at the start of the presentation. “We attempted to create a practical and results-driven plan which addressed your…