Wildfire Season is Here!

Wildfire season is here! The "Three" fire prompted a temporary closure of Arizona Highway 188 between El Oso Road and Roosevelt Dam on Thursday evening, June 23. The lightning-caused fire, located 6½ miles northwest of Roosevelt Dam, began on Tuesday, June 21. By Sunday, June 29, the Three Fire had burned over 19,000 acres at a cost of $1,727,428. Four crews, 3 helicopters, 12 engines, 5 water tenders and a total of 269 personnel fought this fire. Small burnout operations were performed along State Route 188 in an effort to stop the fire from spreading southeast. Cholla Campground, which served as the fire base camp, however, opened in time for the Fourth of July weekend. Kudos to all those who helped keep this area safe from the devastation of fire. The web page for this publication is in the early stages of creation with a projected launch date of August 1. The site will include the most current edition, as well as time-dated material between issues, links to local real estate, articles from previous issues, photos of Roosevelt, and a slew of other useful information. A long as we're on the subject of good news, we've ordered new equipment, which will enable us to conduct a major expansion of this publication. An additional 5,000 copies will be printed with the August 3 issue. Another circulation increase is expected three to four weeks (custom newspaper stands have been ordered) after the second July issue. Expansion is immediately slated for the areas of Payson, Globe, and Superior. We're looking at long-term growth into Apache Junction, and areas in and around Phoenix. I'll keep you up-to-date on all the new and exciting happenings with this paper via this column. Until next issue. . .take care.