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Payson fire officials urge residents to prepare as wildfire season nears; county symposium planned
Summary
Fire leaders described the town's fuels-reduction history, current grant activity and the limits of local response, and urged residents to create defensible space and register for emergency notifications. Officials also promoted an April wildfire symposium intended to boost community preparedness.
Payson Fire Department leaders and fuels manager Kevin McCully briefed the council on the town's wildfire risk, recent mitigation grants and the limits of local suppression resources.
"Where we live here has always been and always will be affected by wildfire," McCully said, framing the discussion as one of long-term community risk and mitigation rather than a short-term problem.
McCully reviewed the town's recent history of fuels grants and mitigation work, the creation of a local Firewise group and property-assessment volunteers, and the limits and administrative challenges of state grant programs (reimbursement requirements, statewide cost assumptions and timing). He said recent grants the town administered total roughly $1.5 million in work across several hundred acres, and noted the administrative effort required to bundle multiple small properties into eligible grant projects.
Chief Staub and McCully stressed that many fires start close to human activity and that the town's best protection is a rapid, well-resourced initial attack coupled with widespread property-level mitigation. "If you don't do at least 30%, you don't make any difference," McCully said, citing a Cal Poly analysis the department uses as guidance; he said the "sweet spot" of community-level mitigation is between roughly 30% and 80% of properties treated.
The chiefs described staffing and resource constraints: Payson and partner departments field a limited number of engines and crews during peak season while the U.S. Forest Service supplements with its own initial-attack modules, hand crews and helicopters. The town and county coordinate daily during high-risk periods and officials said they conduct regular evacuation planning with law enforcement.
A practical note for residents: emergency notification is handled through Gila County ready-alert systems (visitreadygila.com was given as the county registration page during the meeting); officials urged families to have a plan, pack prescriptions and pets, and be prepared for multi-day displacement in the event of an evacuation. Chief Staub said evacuation routes from Payson are limited to State Route 87 north and south and SR 260 east; he warned that elaborate route schemes can fail under pressure and emphasized getting out early when told to do so.
Official outreach: The International Association of Fire Chiefs-backed Rim Country Community Wildfire Symposium is scheduled for April 12 at the Gila Community College campus. A short promotional video played during the meeting and firefighters said the symposium will include education, hands-on activities and a children's program.
Ending: Fire officials asked the council to support long-term mitigation and community-education funding, and to consider equipment or a town fuels crew as one method to increase sustained mitigation capacity.
