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Control burns enhance the safety of community

On Oct. 11, both the curious and concerned could be seen throughout town staring west at the control burn on the small hill just above the Williams Cemetery. It is rare that a control burn occurs within full view of the town.

With fall, comes the smoke, haze and low visibility that arrives with control burns. Through last Wednesday, remnants of the 200-acre control burn were evident around town. The air didn't appear to be too healthy and the smoke bothered some. Still, control burns are a necessity in and around Williams. Control burns greatly enhance the safety of our community.

The negative impacts of a control burn linger for a short time compared to the devastation that would remain forever in the event of a wildfire. Control burns are necessary to destroy forest debris ‹ caused by both nature and various thinning methods ‹ which could act as combustible fuel in the event of a wildfire.

After an area has been treated with a control burn, the absence of these "fuels" can be crucial to containing a wildland fire. While watching the horrors of Hurricane Katrina on television last month, area residents were thankful to live in Williams ‹ an area that is not threatened by hurricanes and earthquakes.

What we may have forgotten in the wake of Katrina is our area's greatest enemy ‹ wildfire. A wildfire in the area of Bill Williams Mountain would devastate our community. Our watershed is located on the mountain and without it, collecting water would prove to be challenging, if at all possible.

We are a community that thrives on tourism. A charred, black mountain would be visually unappealing not only to residents, but visitors as well. No one enjoys hiking or hunting amidst ashes. The view we enjoy now would be lost to us in this lifetime in the event of a fire.

The inconvenience of control burns is a relatively small price to pay once it is remembered all that we could potentially lose should a wildfire occur. Because of control burns, our view of Bill Williams Mountain could remain unchanged in years to come. And this is a view we hope remains unchanged.


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