Sun Valley considers fire break
Plan is for 6-mile, 250-foot-wide swath
By PETER BOLTZ
Express Staff Writer
The Sun Valley Fire Department is giving serious
consideration to running a six-mile fire break around the resort town.
A public hearing is scheduled June 6 for the proposal put
on the table by Sun Valley Fire Chief Jeff Carnes. It will be held in the
Sun Valley City Hall from 4 to 7 p.m.
The firebreak would run from the end of Juniper Road to
the end of Fairway Road, which is a distance of six miles. Also, according
to the plan, a 250-foot-wide swath at an elevation of about 6,000 feet
would ring the city.
Even though it is tentative, the plan is considered by
Carnes as "the most protection down the road."
Carnes is suggesting the fire break as a proposal for
wildfire mitigation money from the Bureau of Land Management as part of
the BLM’s community at risk program.
Carnes said he didn’t know how much he will get from the
BLM, but he estimates the amount will be between $500,000 and $1 million.
He stressed the plan wouldcall for removing only
sagebrush, and the fire break would not be a "denuding."
He added that it would not be cut all at the same
elevation. Instead, its elevation would vary and create an
"undulating" look.
The plan also calls for cutting a 250-foot-wide fire break
along the hillside on the east bordering the Weyyakin neighborhood.
Public comment will be taken through June 14. For more
information, call Phil McCaffray at 622-8234.
