By Daniel Stefanski |
A Republican state House member is calling on the U.S. military to increase its fire safety standards for Arizona communities.
Earlier this week, Arizona State Representative David Cook submitted his comments for the U.S. Air Force’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), asking the military branch “to ensure the use of flares is prohibited on days where local, state, and federal agencies have put fire restrictions in place.”
Cook said, “While Arizona is an important state for conducting strategic military training operations, the Air Force needs to take every precaution to protect people and land from preventable disasters, including wildland fires. Releasing flares during times when fire restrictions are in place poses an unnecessary risk to residents. The military must recognize the danger these flares pose to Arizona communities and ensure that no flares are deployed on days when state or local fire restrictions are active.”
In his comments, Cook wrote that, “Although the Draft EIS states that the possibility of wildfires ‘would be remote considering the release altitude under the Proposed Action,’ history has shown that flares have been tied to wildfire occurrences, including the 2021 Telegraph fire, which burned over 180,000 acres and for nearly a month. While ‘the DAF believes it is unlikely that the fire was caused by flares,’ the cause of the Telegraph fire has not been fully resolved, and the Draft EIS does not rule out the possibility that flares were responsible for the fire.”
Cook added, “I believe the best way to reduce the risk of fire caused by flares is to implement a dual approach that includes both minimum altitude restrictions and operational constraints that correlate with local, state, and federal fire restrictions. Accordingly, I respectfully request the DAF update its Final EIS and Proposed Action to prohibit the use of flares on days where local, state, or federal agencies have put fire restrictions in place.”
Members of the public may submit their own comments in support or opposition to the proposal up until October 9.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
