WILLIAMS - For residents of Williams, 2009 certainly turned out to be a turbulent year full of ups and downs.
The Twin Wildfire, a controlled burn that quickly became out of control due to shifting wind conditions, threatened area homes and businesses before fire fighting personnel were able to contain the blaze. Shortly after the fire, residents in Williams organized a "Pay it Forward" event to honor those men and women who fought to keep the community out of harm's way as the flames loomed just outside of town.
Efforts to enhance the city of Williams visually were successful with the completion of the Legion of Honor Mural above downtown shop windows on Route 66. The Gateway Arch was erected, welcoming visitors to town, and the Masonic Lodge renovated its building on the corner of Third Street and Route 66, at the same time allowing a local youth group to use its empty windows on the ground floor for art installations.
With help from the Arizona State Senate, the Williams Health Care Center narrowly avoided losing crucial funding. Without both the Senate's vote to hold a special election and voter approval to continue a property tax that provides the funding, officials with the health center faced cutting programs and reducing its hours.
Facing statewide budget cuts and a drop in student enrollment, the Williams Unified School District adopted a four-day school week and laid off employees. The Williams Elementary-Middle School replaced retiring Principal Donny Bridges with Iowa native Rachel Savage.
Although local cable provider Eagle West was shut down by the FBI, leaving some in Williams without the TV programming they had become used to, residents softened the blow by frequenting local eating and drinking establishments. Two of these, the Sultana and Twister's, were honored in national publications this year as some of the best places to eat and drink in the United States.
A summary of the year's top stories appears in this week's edition of the Williams-Grand Canyon News.
Twin Fire held at 921 acres
A roughly 1,000-acre control burn three miles southwest of Williams implemented on Oct. 1 became a wildfire Oct. 2 when shifting winds caused spot fires to ignite outside of the burn project's borders. Sixty-four homes were evacuated with many other residents worried that the fire would continue to burn out of control. By Oct. 6, life began to return to normal with firefighters largely in control of the fire, evacuations lifted and Williams Elementary-Middle School and Williams High School reopened.
According to the Forest Service, firefighters were able to hold containment lines on Oct. 4 keeping the fire at 921 acres. As of the morning of Oct. 6, the fire was 20 percent contained with personnel able to complete and reinforce a fire line around the perimeter of the fire. More than 450 fire personnel began mop up operations, seeking out hotspots and extinguishing them. At 10:30 a.m. the evacuation was lifted for those residents affected by the fire.
Oct. 1
The Twin Prescribed Burn project was ignited Oct. 1 on the Williams Ranger District three miles southwest of Williams. The prescribed burn included the Twin Hat Tank and Twin South Hat units. The Hat Tank burn (711 acres) is located approximately three miles southwest of Williams, northwest of Bixler Mountain. The South Hat site (324 acres) is about six miles southwest of Williams near the junction of Forest Roads 108 and 122.
Oct. 2
Once the fire was declared out of control on Oct. 2, operations that night concentrated on protecting the Escalante subdivision. High winds pushed the fire northeast into the subdivision although no structures were burned. Ten air tankers from California were called into action to fight the blaze. The tankers traveled from California because all bases in Arizona had been closed.
A reverse 911 call was initiated by the Coconino County Sheriff's Office to the residences along the southwest corner of the city. Residents affected by the evacuation resided west of Ninth Street and south of Sheridan Avenue. Approximately 64 homes were evacuated. The Red Cross established an evacuation center at the Williams Elementary-Middle School.
Oct. 3
On Oct. 3, the fire had reached approximately 800 acres and remained out of control. Air tankers resumed operations in the morning. Resources assigned to the incident included a Type I Incident Management Team, five hotshot crews, three water tenders, four Type II hand crews, one dozer and eight engines. The fire incident objectives included providing for firefighter and public safety; minimizing impacts to private properties; protecting communication sites on top of Bill Williams Mountain and protecting the city of Williams watershed.
As of the morning of Oct. 3, residents in the southwest portion of the city were told to leave their homes due to the threat of fire and smoke, including roughly 25 elderly residents of St. Agnes Apartments. Those who live west of Ninth Street and south of Sheridan Avenue were asked to leave their homes immediately, with a 4 a.m. Oct. 3 deadline suggested, according to a Williams Police Department press release.
Forest Service officials said fire activity became less intense during the afternoon with the majority of the activity to the southeast. Air operations were effective but heavy afternoon winds made flying difficult by the end of the day.
In order to protect public health and safety, an emergency fire closure was initiated around Bill Williams Mountain. The closure was along Perkinsville Road (County Road 73) on the east, Forest Road 122 on the south, I-40 to the north and Forest Road 108 on the west.
Oct. 4
According to the Forest Service, fire fighters were able to hold containment lines on Oct. 4, keeping the fire at 921 acres.
An air quality monitoring station was installed in Williams.
As of Oct. 6, total cost to contain the Twin Fire is estimated at $1,700, 000.
Residents of Williams "Pay it Forward"
After witnessing the efforts of local agencies to protect the city of Williams during the Twin Wildfire, some residents of Williams planned an event to thank them while at the same time promoting a concept they call "Pay it Forward."
The Williams Pay it Forward Action Team, headed by Kevin Young, honored and raised money for the Williams Volunteer Fire Department and Williams Police Department at an event held at the Williams Rodeo Grounds Nov. 7. The Williams Pays it Forward benefit featured music, dancing, raffle and food and drinks.
Organizers of the event said they wanted to promote the Pay it Forward concept in Williams.
Judy Lollich said the basic principle of the concept is helping someone in need without expecting anything in return. Instead, the individual who receives the help in turn helps three more people, creating a groundswell of goodwill.
"The reason we're calling the event 'Pay it Forward' is that all the proceeds we make that night will be split between the fire department and police department to give them seed money to do something good for the community in the future. All we want to do is thank people who really did save our community," Lollich said.
The event raised roughly $4,000. The money was split between the Williams Police Department and the Williams Volunteer Fire Department.
Williams Police Chief Herman Nixon said the money given to the police department would be put to good use in the spirit of the Pay it Forward concept.
"We're happy to be part of it and we're going to try to help the community the best we can with it," Nixon said. "What we will do is, any funds that come our way, if we find a family where both parents lost their jobs and they can't pay their bills or put a dinner on the table to feed their kids, we'll go out and help them with those funds. And then we'll ask them, we don't expect anything back, but when your neighbor needs their fence mended and they can't do it, will you help them?"
