Prescott Area Wildland Urban Interface Commission

Prescott Area Wildland

“Living on the Edge”

Urban Interface Commission

PAWUIC'S motto "Living on the Edge", has two meanings: living on the edge of Arizona's wildlands with all of their attendant grace and beauty, but also living with the danger of wildfire. The question is: Can you survive a wildfire? PAWUIC, founded in 1990, is unique in the nation as a not-for-profit group chartered by the City of Prescott and Yavapai County. PAWUIC is comprised of federal, state, county and city agency representatives working together with volunteers, businesses, and community leaders. PAWUIC's purpose is to mitigate the threat of wildfire and to promote forest health in the greater Prescott area, and Yavapai County- an area larger than the State of Massachusetts. Members from Prescott National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, Arizona Forestry Division, Prescott Yavapai Tribe, Yavapai County Emergency Management, Central Yavapai Fire District, Prescott Fire Department, eleven other smaller fire departments, homeowner associations and private citizens meet monthly to report and coordinate their activities to reduce the wildfire danger in the area. PAWUIC works not just in fire season, but throughout the year to reduce the chance of a wildfire and to reduce the damage it would cause when it strikes our community. By cooperating together for the past 20 years, PAWUIC has brought nearly $6,000,000 into our community. PAWUIC provides: • Information and education on how to reduce wildland fire danger by means of an annual EXPO, meetings, training, newspaper articles, firewise communities, and its regional information web site shown above. • A source of grant funding for area fire department efforts to reduce fuels and mitigate other fire dangers. • Training scholarships for area firefighters at the Arizona Wildfire Academy. • Supporting efforts for economically and environmentally sound ways to utilize the biomass generated from fuels reduction and forest health projects. • A most important monthly forum for sharing ideas and coordinating efforts among the involved agencies. Time: 7:00 AM on the 1st Thurs. of each month in the Mackin Building at the Prescott Rodeo Grounds, 840 Rodeo Dr. The public is always welcome to attend. Becoming a volunteer is a rewarding experience.