Village of Oak Creek residents should feel safer knowing the Sedona Fire District now has an alternate way to reach them.
With slow or stopped traffic, a likely scenario of Highway 179 during construction, the completion of a bridge above Oak Creek couldn’t come at a better time.

Village of Oak Creek residents should feel safer knowing the Sedona Fire District now has an alternate way to reach them.
With slow or stopped traffic, a likely scenario of Highway 179 during construction, the completion of a bridge above Oak Creek couldn’t come at a better time.
The bridge that connects Loy Road, off Upper Red Rock Loop and Verde Valley School Roads, is part of Al Spector’s La Merra subdivision which is projected to include 38 single-family homes on 111 acres.
The subdivision was approved by Yavapai County Board of Supervisors in May 2007.
The subdivision is gated, and the bridge is only accessible to SFD for emergencies when Highway 179 would be too slow or is closed completely.
In the past, firefighters or paramedics coming from SFD Station No. 1 in West Sedona, used Beaverhead Flat Road when Highway 179 was closed, Deputy Fire Marshal Gary Johnson said.
“It’s uncommon,” Johnson said of Highway 179 closing. “We don’t anticipate a lot of use.”
SFD is, however, grateful that Spector granted them access to the subdivision’s bridge and will be considerate if they ever have to pass through once homes are built, Johnson said, turning off sirens and lights for the stretch of road in La Merra.
Johnson doesn’t think emergency crews will have to use the bridge excessively.
They’ll continue to use Beaverhead Flat Road from the Village to transport patients to the Verde Valley Medical Center in Cottonwood, but the bridge will help get them from West Sedona to the Village faster, he said.
One scenario would be if there was an accident on Highway 179 that stopped traffic that Station No. 3 in the Village responded to. If dispatch received an emergency call from the Village during that time, Station No. 1 from West Sedona would respond by using the bridge.
“From our standpoint, we’re very appreciative of allowing us to do this because it benefits the community,” Johnson said.
That’s why Spector agreed to it in the first place.
“It’s a community development and it’s the proper thing to do in case of an emergency,” Spector said.
Although gates will be closed, lights on emergency vehicles will be detected by a strobe that will automatically open the gates.
If the strobe isn’t working, the gate also has a key box, like all gated communities, that SFD can access with a key.

Alison Ecklund can be reached at 282-7795, Ext. 125, or e-mail aecklund@larsonnewspapers.com