It was nearly standing room only as close to 200 residents packed the Village of Oakcreek Association’s clubhouse to seek information on what would happen if the community had to face a natural disaster.
The 90-minute community forum, which was put together by a handful of Village residents, centered on the likelihood of a wildfire and how residents would work with first responders during an evacuation.
According to information sent to residents announcing the meeting, “The VOC has only one road in and out, so people want to understand expectations before a severe fire, not during. They want to know if there is a master plan and who is in charge. They want to know if power is cut, what is the communication plan? Will the bridge at Sedona Ranch be open as an escape? With so many unfamiliar tourists, how will the roads be managed? How will people get out; how will fire fighters get in? These questions are just a sampling from area residents.”
A panel of area first responders were on hand to answer questions from the audience. They included Sedona Fire District’s Assistant Chief Jayson Coil and Fire Marshal Jon Davis, Amy Tinderholt of the Red Rock Ranger District and Travis Mabery, a battalion chief for the U.S. Forest Service. Due to scheduling conflicts no one from Yavapai County or the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office attended.
The 2018 Yavapai County Hazard Mitigation Plan states that the probability and magnitude of wildfire incidents for Yavapai County are influenced by numerous factors. These include vegetation densities, previous burn history, hydrologic conditions, climatic conditions such as temperature, humidity and wind, ignition source [human or natural], topographic aspect and slope, and remoteness of area.
That document does not address the VOC specifically but lists Sedona’s wildfire likelihood as high with results being catastrophic. It also lists the warning time of less than six hours and the duration of a large fire lasting a week.
VOC residents saw first-hand how devastating a wildfire can be during the 2006 La Barranca Fire. In that case, it was started by someone working on a piece of equipment that created sparks. High winds and dry conditions fueled the spread of that fire.
“While Sedona is vulnerable, and has a large wildland-urban interface exposure around its entire perimeter, losses in the greater Sedona area have been rare,” the county report states. “Two large fires have occurred in and along Oak Creek in the past 10 years [the 2006 Brins Fire and the 2014 Slide Fire]. Structural and personal losses from these fires were fortunately minimal.”
Residents posed several questions to the panel at the meeting. Panelists answered those dealing with evacuation to the best of their ability because that aspect of an emergency is headed by the sheriff’s office.One resident asked about water pressure throughout the Village. Davis said within SFD’s coverage area, they deal with 37 different water purveyors, which can often be challenging.
“Water pressure can vary greatly simply from one side of the street to another,” he said.
Davis added that SFD does maintenance checks on all the fire hydrants in the VOC on an annual basis but it’s up to the various water companies to test the pressure and provide those results to the SFD every five years. He said many fail to do so.
With limited access out of the VOC, one woman wanted to know how residents can avoid being trapped in their vehicles and possibly die similar to what happened with the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif., two years ago, when 85 people were killed and more than 18,800 buildings were destroyed.
“If you’re told to evacuate, you should do so immediately,” Coil said. “With fires like those in Paradise, people who die in their vehicles usually do so because they waited too long to get out.”
