The annual Perseid meteor shower will peak this Thursday night – Friday morning, August 11-12. This may be an above average year for the number of meteors.
The best time to watch for Perseid meteors will be from about 1 am (after the moon sets) until about 4 am at the first traces of daylight.
Perseus will be high in the northeast, but meteors should be visible over much of the sky. A dark observing site will be best.
PHOENIX — Because of structures the Arizona Department of Transportation has acquired in the future path of the South Mountain Freeway, probationary firefighters with the Rural/Metro Fire Department were able to practice what’s known as a mayday scenario, wearing blacked-out masks to simulate being trapped in a building filled with smoke.
At a former hotel, SWAT teams from various law enforcement agencies practiced responding to hostage situations. At homes scheduled to be removed, Phoenix firefighters learned how to cut through roofs to provide ventilation during fires.
In advance of Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway construction, ADOT has continued a tradition of working with first responders to provide real-world training opportunities using the controlled environment of vacant structures. Since last year, more than a dozen agencies have been able to train scores of personnel.
The Phoenix Fire Department was able to send 48 ladder companies as well as every recruit for rooftop-ventilation exercises.
“For the recruits, it is the opportunity to practice this critical skill prior to an actual event at 3 a.m., in the dark, or whenever the call may originate,” Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Riley said. “The amount of training we were able to do was invaluable to our department.”
The Rural/Metro Fire Department held training in three homes. One presented a scenario in which crawling trainees who are unable to see through their air masks have a chain-link metal structure drop on them to simulate being trapped by a falling roof. This mayday drill forced them to communicate, work through the problem and breach a wall to get out.
“There is no question that the job these firefighters do is dangerous,” said Shawn Gilleland, a Rural/Metro Fire Department public information officer. “Partnering with ADOT, we are able to provide real world training in a very controlled environment.”
ADOT has acquired nearly 200 properties since receiving federal approval to move forward with the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway. Using the structures for training before they are removed involves no expense for ADOT or the training agencies, other than a training agency needing to secure insurance beforehand.
“As a public safety agency, ADOT works hand in hand with police officers, firefighters and other first responders every day,” said Brian Rockwell, ADOT assistant chief right of way agent. “Much like the general public, we appreciate their life-saving efforts and were more than glad to be able to assist when we were approached by several agencies. The exercises provide valuable training that they might not have had otherwise and, in turn, are a tremendous benefit those these agencies serve.”
This training collaboration with Valley first responders dates back to the 1990s and has been used during construction on State Route 51 (Piestewa Freeway) and the Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) segment between 24th Street and the Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) interchange.
Prior to any training, structures that will be used must have been tested and abated for asbestos. Depending on the nature of the training and the location of the structures being used, neighboring properties are advised by the agency involved several days in advance.
The South Mountain Freeway, which will run east and west along Pecos Road, and north and south near 59th Avenue, will connect with Interstate 10 at each end. When opened to traffic by late 2019, it will complete the Loop 101 and Loop 202 systems, create a long-planned direct link between the East Valley and West Valley, and provide an alternative to I-10 through downtown Phoenix.
With construction scheduled to begin later this summer, ADOT is conducting preliminary engineering, addressing cultural resources in the right of way, acquiring and preparing properties, and relocating utilities.
PHOENIX — With an Arizona Cardinals preseason game and a concert scheduled Friday evening in the West Valley, those using Interstate 10 should plan for heavier traffic and budget extra travel time.
Monday’s evening commute also may require a little patience and planning ahead with veteran rockers Guns N’ Roses playing at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Kickoff for the Cardinals game against the Oakland Raiders is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, at University of Phoenix. The Guns N’ Roses concert is scheduled for 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15.
ADOT is able to use its network of freeway message signs to provide traffic advisories in areas approaching Glendale and the stadium.
Friday also includes a 7:30 p.m. concert at Ak-Chin Pavilion featuring country singer Jason Aldean.
ADOT provides freeway-travel information via Twitter (@ArizonaDOT). State highway conditions also are available via ADOT’s Traveler Information site at az511.gov or by calling 511.
Please avoid distractions while driving. It’s best to check traffic conditions before leaving your home or office.
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and Keep Arizona Beautiful (KAZB) staff will conduct two “Environmental Resources Roadshows,” where attendees will learn about ways to improve their local environment.
FLAGSTAFF
Wed., August 24, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Coconino County Health Services District
Coconino County Community Services
2625 N King Street
Flagstaff, AZ 86004SEDONA
Thurs., August 25, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
City of Sedona City Hall Complex
Vultee Conference Room
102 Roadrunner Drive
Sedona, AZ 86336
The Environmental Resources Roadshow partnership encourages community members, Tribes, business people, elected officials, government agencies and school representatives in Flagstaff and Sedona and the surrounding area to attend one of the no-cost, two-hour events. Following brief presentations, attendees can engage in open dialogue and participate in a question and answer session.
Topics
ADEQ: successful recycling programs such as electronic waste and food recovery
ADEQ: how communities can benefit from ADEQ’s brownfields grants and technical expertise
ADOT: volunteer process for adopting sections of Arizona highways for litter cleanup
KAZB: statewide litter prevention, recycling and beautification programs
Williams had the opportunity, yesterday, to hear the story of a survivor of the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. Doris Martin came to Williams from Flagstaff with husband and co-author Ralph to sign copies of her book Kiss Every Step: A Survivor’s Memoir from the Nazi Holocaust at the Wild West Junction. Doris and Ralph also founded the Martin-Springer Institute at Northern Arizona University, whose purpose is to apply the lessons learned from the Holocaust to benefit Mankind.
Mayor John Moore stops by to speak with Doris, husband Ralph and others having lunch before the book signing.
She related the terror inflicted by the Germans on the Poland Jews. They would be dragged from their homes on several occasions for various reasons and eventually sent back home. One time they were told to go to a stadium to get a stamp. They were told not to bring any food for the children because they were only going to get an identification stamp and would be sent back home.
They were taken to a stadium where the reality was much different. The whole town was herded into a stadium to receive the stamp.
“The whole town took the children, everybody to the stadium. But when we went into the stadium, it was not like that. We were only surrounded with the Nazis, with the German Shepherds, with the rifles,” she said in the interview. “We couldn’t go out from the stadium. And in the stadium was sitting a Nazi at a small table. And he would choose who should live, and who should die.”
Tuffy, the Wild West Junction mascot.
The family lived on a second floor of an apartment building. When they returned home, her mother told them that they should kiss every step up to their apartment, which they did. That was where the title of the book came from.
Though they were eventually separated and Doris was sent to Auschwitz, her whole family survived and were reunited. Unfortunately their hometown of Bendzin no longer existed.
Her story of survival is told in her book Kiss Every Step which is available online at Amazon and is available at Barnes and Nobles in Flagstaff.
PHOENIX — With thunderstorms occurring in southern Arizona and extreme weather possible elsewhere in the state, drivers should leave prepared and be ready to wait out heavy rain, high winds and blowing dust.
The latest National Weather Service forecast calls for a strong chance of rain and thunderstorms through at least Wednesday evening. Before driving on highways, review the Arizona Department of Transportation’s monsoon-safety tips at PullAsideStayAlive.org.
Monsoon storms can produce sudden, torrential rain. Turn on your headlights while driving in threatening weather and, when roads are wet, reduce speed and maintain a safe distance between your vehicle and the one ahead.
Avoid areas where water is pooling in travel lanes. If your vehicle appears to be hydroplaning, ease your foot off the gas pedal until you regain traction rather than braking suddenly, which can cause a vehicle to skid off the roadway.
Don’t risk crossing a flooded wash, even if it doesn’t look deep. Just a few inches of running water can carry away a vehicle, even a heavy pickup truck or SUV.
Downdrafts from thunderstorms can create sudden dust storms. If you see blowing dust ahead, get off the highway as soon as you can do so safely. Don’t wait until poor visibility makes it difficult.
If you are caught in blowing dust, immediately check traffic around your vehicle, begin slowing down and get completely off the roadway. Don’t stop in a travel lane or in the emergency lane.
Once you are off the highway, turn off all lights, including your emergency flashers, so another vehicle doesn’t use your lights as a guide and crash into your parked vehicle. Set your emergency brake, take your foot off the brake and stay in the vehicle with seat belts buckled until the storm passes.
WILLIAMS — Managers are seeking public comment on a proposed project to use mechanical treatments and prescribed fire to restore grasslands across a 550,000-acre project area on the Williams and Tusayan districts of the Kaibab National Forest.
Known as the South Zone Grassland Restoration Project, the effort would implement thinning, prescribed burning and other activities to restore the structure and function of grassland and pinyon-juniper grassland, also referred to as savanna, ecosystems in an effort to improve their resilience to disturbance and changing climate regimes.
The Environmental Assessment analyzing the potential effects to forest resources of implementing the proposed project and all other associated documentation are available on the Kaibab National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=44132. In addition to potential environmental effects, the Environmental Assessment describes the project’s background, outlines the purpose of and need for the project, describes the components of the alternatives under analysis, and summarizes consultation and coordination that has been completed throughout the life of the project.
The South Zone Grassland Restoration Project area encompasses about 269,000 acres of the Williams Ranger District and 281,000 acres of the Tusayan Ranger District. The project area consists of the portions of the South Zone located outside the Four Forest Restoration Initiative project boundary.
The Southwestern landscape, including the South Zone of the Kaibab National Forest, has been greatly altered over the past century by the encroachment of woody plants, particularly juniper, pinyon, and ponderosa pine, into areas that were formerly grasslands and open pinyon-juniper grasslands. These factors have eliminated the vegetation necessary to carry low intensity surface fires across the landscape, thereby altering the natural fire regimes and allowing uncharacteristic forest succession to take place. Encroachment can alter water and nutrient cycling, impact soil integrity, and negatively impact wildlife habitat.
Comments concerning this project must be in writing and may be delivered electronically or by mail, facsimile, or hand. Comments will be accepted for 30 calendar days following the publication of a legal notice in the Arizona Daily Sun, which is expected to occur today. For additional information on the project or to provide comments, visit the Kaibab National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=44132.
PINETOP — Shooting sports enthusiasts and other members of the public are invited to the grand opening of the Second Knoll Target Range, located near Show Low, on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016.
The ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. with honor guard, posting of colors, remarks by Arizona Game and Fish Director Larry Voyles and other invited dignitaries, and a ribbon cutting and ceremonial first shot.
The opening of the Second Knoll Target Range is the culmination of a long-term effort by the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD), the Forest Service (FS), and the White Mountain Shooters Association (WMSA) to establish a public shooting facility in the White Mountains. Phase 1 includes a 50-yard range and a 100-yard range and four 25-yard pistol bays.
The Second Knoll Target Range will be operated by the WMSA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, through a license agreement with the Arizona Game and Fish Commission, under a 20-year special use permit issued to AZGFD. The target range is located in an unused cinder pit that was previously permitted by the FS to the Arizona Department of Transportation. The range is located on approximately 80 acres of land managed by the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.
Future construction plans include a 300-yard rifle range, camp host site, classroom and club house.
The Second Knoll Target Range is located approximately 6 miles east of Show Low. From the intersection of Highway 60 and Highway 77 in Show Low, take Hwy 60 east 4.4 miles and turn right (south) and follow the road for about a half mile.
PHOENIX — Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) officials announced today seven Water Quality Improvement Grant (WQIG) awards totaling more than $1.9 million to fund field projects aimed at reducing E. coli, excess nutrients and sediment caused by runoff from non-regulated sources in four state waterways the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designates as impaired.
Located in ADEQ water protection plan areas, these waterways include the popular and highly recreated Oak Creek and San Francisco River, as well as the San Pedro River and Granite Creek. Each of these waterways is impaired because rainfall, snowmelt and/or irrigation pick up pollutant-containing sediments and deposit them into the waterway.
Polluted runoff from non-regulated sources, such as agriculture, forestry, grazing and septic systems, threatens public health and the environment and can have harmful effects on drinking water supplies, recreation, fisheries and wildlife. Common pollutants include nutrients and microbes, such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia Shigella, for which E. coli tests are used to indicate their presence. Water with high levels of E. coli can cause gastrointestinal problems if unintentionally swallowed while swimming.
“ADEQ’s Water Quality Improvement Grant Program arms qualifying parties with funds to support important projects to prevent and address pollution from non-regulated sources,” said ADEQ Water Quality Division Director, Trevor Baggiore. “We vet each application using a stringent evaluation process to ensure awarded funds achieve the most impactful environmental benefits and outcomes for impaired waters in Arizona.”
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Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) crews continue with paving operations on eastbound Interstate 40 near Flagstaff (milepost 196-197), just before the Interstate 17 junction on Tuesday (August 9) from 4 a.m. to noon.
Lane restrictions and reduced speeds will be in place during construction; please allow for extra time for travel in the area, and watch for crews and equipment in the work zone.
ADOT works to inform the public about planned roadway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule.