Fire nearly out at 131 Sherman in Williams.
The Lifeline Ambulance stood about two-blocks from the fire so it appears that there were no injuries.
The fourth fire truck arrived at about 11 a.m. and it appeared that the fire was nearly out by that time.
WILLIAMS — If Facebook is any gauge, it appears that the historic Route 66 Williams Independence Day parade was a rousing success. Pictures and videos of the parade appeared from Richard Goettel of Phoenix and local resident Brenda Carter. Brenda even caught the Mayor directing traffic.
There was some concern that it might be a wash. Rain came down starting about two hours before the parade, but cleared up. While clouds darkened the city and threatened more rain, it never came.
The parade began with the members of the American Legion Cordova Post #13 carrying the colors. They were followed by the Vietnam Veterans of America. Smokey the Bear was the parade Grand Marshall.
The American Legion Post and Vietnam Veterans were joined by the Ladies Auxiliary of the American Legion and Matthew Broehm VFW Post.
A new addition is the War Memorial Museum of Arizona in their 1942 WWII half-track.
It would not be a Williams parade without the Bill Williams Mountain Men—official ambassadors of the State of Arizona, the tractors and the classic cars.
It was good to see Bearizona in the parade this year. The were promoting their upcoming Backwoods BBQ July 25.
Save Meant to Rescue had a tremendous float this year. They get our vote for Number 1. They were surrounded by pets rescued by new owners.
Overall the parade was the best we can remember.
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Updated 12:01 am 7/4/15 – Parade at 6:30 p.m.
WILLIAMS — The Williams Independence day weekend has started with the setup of the Kiwanis Route 66 Street Market across from the Memorial Park.
If you need prospecting equipment, camping items, movies, hats, or other general items, check out the Street Market. They usually get more day venders over the weekend.
There is even a bust of the first president under the Constitution on sale.
Tractors continue to arrive for the annual tractor display on Second Street next to the Dara Thai restaurant. The tractors also an annual feature of the Independence Day parade down historic Route 66 at 6:30 p.m tomorrow.
At 11 a.m. there will be a Community Prayer session at the Community Stage followed by the VFW chilli cook-off at noon. The United Methodist Church on Second Street will host their annual Ice Cream Social at 2 p.m on the Fourth.
The Williams Aquatic Center will host a free swim from 12 to 4 p.m.
The forest trails and camping is open thanks to the wet weather we have enjoyed. Hike Benham Trail, Buckskinner trail or any of the other great trails around Williams. Camping is open at Dogtown and White Horse lakes. Fishing is open at Buckskinner and Santa Fe reservoirs as well as Kaibab Lake and the others aforementioned.
Or you can enjoy a guided tour to the Grand Canyon with Marvelous Marv and Magnificent Maggie. Perhaps take the train to the Grand Canyon.
The bear art will be on sale at Bearizona. You might want to even consider taking in the driving and walk-through tour of Bearizona while you are there.
So many things to do and so little time. You might just want to add a couple of days to your visit.
WILLIAMS — Williams received a quick dose of rain, hail and lightning this afternoon as a prelude for the rest of the week.
The chance of thunderstorms rises to 50% tomorrow lowering to 30% through Independence Day. Highs will remain in the 80’s through the week with lows around 55. Winds are expected to remain fairly calm at about 5- to 8-mph. 
Updated 11:05
Don’t know exactly what a Thrillist is supposed to be, but for them the science is settled (even though they apparently did no research). Michigan is the number one State to live in—Detroit being a jewel in their crown.
Arizona comes in at 47, according to this web site. We beat out Florida, Deleware and Ohio.
Why do we rank so low? Because we don’t have any good Christmas trees. Despite the fact that Kaibab sells out of Christmas tree permits yearly, they write:
Though the unmitigated beauty of its canyons and deserts is well known, the Northern part of the state actually holds the largest number of ponderosa pine trees in in the world, a fact that would hold more sway in the ranking if they weren’t completely useless as Christmas trees.
Guess we will just have to settle with the inevitable traffic from tourists around the world clogging our traffic corridors and being the Number One Gun Friendly State of the Union two years running according to Guns and Ammo; According to their research. Guess we’ll have to keep all the beautiful hiking, camping and fishing to ourselves. Not to mention the longest contiguous stretch of Route 66 in the country, historic sites and so-on.
(Music Gianluca Zanna)
Source: Detroit Free Press
FLAGSTAFF — Yesterday at 12:00 pm Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Deputies and Coconino County Search and Rescue personnel responded to the report of a rappelling accident at Sycamore Falls. According to the reporting party a 56 year old male had been struck by a falling rock and was at the bottom of the canyon. Due to the remote location, treacherous terrain and the unknown extent of injuries assistance was requested from Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue who responded from Kingman, AZ, Ponderosa Fire District, and Lifeline Ambulance.
Once on scene a search and rescue team member rappelled to the patient’s location and conducted an assessment. It was determined that the patient suffered isolated injuries to his left knee and foot however he did not have any serious or life threatening injuries. At that point it was determined that a helicopter rescue was not necessary and a ground based rope rescue system was constructed to raise the patient and a rescuer to the top of the cliff so he could be transported by ambulance personnel to the Flagstaff Medical Level One Trauma Center.
This incident was an unfortunate accident however the victim was wearing the appropriate safety equipment. It is important for all outdoor recreationists to tell someone where they are going, carry the “Ten Essentials”, and use the appropriate personal protective equipment for the activities they are engaged in.
Ten Essentials
1. Water
2. Food
3. Extra warm clothing
4. Navigation equipment (map, compass, GPS)
5. Headlamp/Flashlight
6. First Aid Kit
7. Shelter Material (space blanket or large leaf bag)
8. Fire Starting Kit (use extreme caution in the dry summer months)
9. Pocket Knife or Multi-Tool
10. Whistle/Signal Mirror
Photo from Kickstarter web site
Adam is a director in his own right having directed episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Babylon 5, Sliders and other non-science fiction shows.
In order to complete the film in time, Adam turned to the Kickstarter funding web site. The father and son team had already chosen 455 Films to produce the film and had contacted several of the Star Trek actors to be interviewed for the film. Zachary Quinto, the current Spock in the recent feature films, has agreed to narrate the film.
Kickstarter offers several donation levels from $5 on up, but some of the higher level offers are already sold out.
Aspens mix with oaks in fall on Bill Williams Mountain to create an image of stunning beauty.
Missoula, MT — Two trees that give Williams and Flagstaff their most beautiful fall image are the oak and the aspen. The Kaibab aspen lines Perkinsville Road—also known as South Road in Williams—and Forest Road 111 which leads to the top of Bill Williams Mountain. The road to Dogtown lake has a number of aspens and oak.
In the spring and summer, the fully-leaved oaks and aspens provide shade for many of the hiking trails and camping spots. In the fall, the color of the leaves of the aspens mix with the changing color of the oak to create images of beauty.
Last March, Neil Weintraub—Kaibab National Forest Archaeologist—held a field trip to the Keyhole Sink. The trailhead to the Keyhole Sink is across from the Oak Hill Snow Play area along Route 66 east of Williams. There are a few aspens at the Keyhole Sink and during the tour, he brought to light the plight of the endangered Kaibab aspens. The aspens are dying off for a number of reasons.
There are groups, however, attempting to bring the aspens back to life.
National Forest Foundation photo
The National Forest Foundation (NFF) [Facebook] recently expanded its partnership with the Salt River Project (SRP) to restore imperiled aspen forests on the Kaibab National Forest in Northern Arizona. A leading partner of the NFF’s reforestation efforts, SRP has been supporting landscape-scale reforestation in Northern Arizona through their Trees for Change program since 2009. This year, customer contributions collected through SRP’s Trees for Change program will restore aspen stands, a unique and imperiled forest type in Northern Arizona.
Aspen forests currently comprise less than one percent of forests on the southern half of the Kaibab National forest. Aspens provide particularly high ecological value and diversity, but these important biodiversity hotspots have declined in recent years due to competition from ponderosa pine, browsing damage from elk and deer, and fire exclusion. To improve the health of these important ecosystems, the NFF and the Kaibab National Forest have partnered on an ambitious two-year long, comprehensive aspen restoration project across 200 acres of the Kaibab National Forest.
With funding from SRP, the NFF and the Kaibab National Forest are constructing temporary fencing to exclude elk and deer, which allows aspen forests to regenerate. Additionally, the partners are planting young aspen seedlings to expedite aspen stand restoration. The project, now halfway completed, is expected to regenerate approximately 200,000 young aspen seedlings.
“Last year, the Forest Service on the Williams Ranger District was successful in reforesting thousands of aspens with the Salt River Project’s contributions. The funding that SRP and the NFF provided was put towards work that would have taken many years to get completed with the regular budget,” said Richard Gonzalez of the Kaibab National Forest.
Since 2009, SRP has been a leading tree planting partner of the NFF, expanding the Forest Service’s capacity to accomplish critical reforestation projects following wildfire. To date, SRP has planted nearly one million trees on the Kaibab, Coconino and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in Northern Arizona. Native seedlings planted through this unique partnership help re-establish wildlife habitat, sequester carbon dioxide and stabilize watersheds after wildfires.
“As a long-term partner of ours, the Salt River Project’s commitment to support important reforestation projects is helping restore Treasured Landscapes in Northern Arizona. We are proud to partner with SRP and admire their commitment to improving Northern Arizona’s National Forests through innovative partnerships,” said Bill Possiel, President of the National Forest Foundation.
Across the country, the forested headwaters of our National Forests and Grasslands provide water for 123 million Americans in more than 3,400 communities. The Phoenix metropolitan area is no exception, relying on water that is captured by National Forests in the Salt and Verde River watersheds. Recognizing the importance of these forested headwaters, SRP has invested in critical restoration projects on these National Forests. In addition to the Trees for Change program, SRP and the NFF developed the Northern Arizona Forest Fund. Dollars contributed through the Northern Arizona Forest Fund are invested in other important forest health projects on National Forests in the Salt and Verde River watersheds.
“Thanks to the generosity of our customers and their commitment to reforestation efforts, we are proud to support the efforts of the National Forest Foundation,” said Lori Singleton, Director of Emerging Customer Programs.
Neil Diamond performs America from the Jazz Singer. Although part of a movie, it has become a popular song.