|
Flagstaff cops busy shaking down homeless people
Transients feeling the heat ERIC BETZ Sun Staff Reporter azdailysun.com Posted: Sunday, June 19, 2011 5:05 am With fire danger levels high and no relief in sight, the Flagstaff Police Department has been stepping up efforts to break up transient camps and crack down on illegal campfires. Over the last several weeks, police say they have been getting help from an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter that flies over the city one or two nights a week looking for signs of fires. GPS locations are marked from the air and police track down the campsite on foot at dawn. When the officers come across a transient camp, they issue a citation to the individual if there's an active fire. Camping is also prohibited within city limits. However, if there's just a fire ring at the site, they'll inform the people that fire restrictions are in place and tell them to move on. "We're pretty nervous about the fire season and we want the public to know there are fire restrictions in place," said Sgt. James Jackson of the Flagstaff Police Department. Jackson said that police don't want to be picking on the local homeless population, but are concerned about the high fire threat associated with the camps. Officers issue a pamphlet to the transients that lists a shelter and social services. Police encourage them not to live in the wooded areas in and around the city. Officers visit areas known to be common sites for the camps more frequently. These include the woods behind the Little America Hotel, in the woods around Coconino Community College, on North Highway 89 by Smokerise and north of the hospital. Last year's Hardy fire, which burned several hundred acres of forest behind Little America, was started from a transient camp. Recently, a small fire that scorched its way along the side of McMillan Mesa was also determined to have originated from a campfire at a transient camp. Another transient campfire recently charred the roadside area between Route 66 and the railroad tracks at Norvel Owens Mortuary. And this week, firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service corralled a fire at under an acre that started from an illegal campfire by Fort Tuthill. Jackson said that next week the police department will start to put together what they're calling a "woodlands campaign." The effort will enlist citizens to walk areas that see the highest recreational use and then call in any illegal campfires that they see without confronting those violating the fire restrictions. The police department said that they're hoping to work with volunteers from the Sheriff's office and then eventually recruit more citizens to walk forests looking for campfires. "We're asking the community to come out and volunteer to help us patrol the area on fire restrictions," Jackson said. For more information on the woodlands campaign, call Sgt. James Jackson at 556-2300. Eric Betz can be reached at ebetz@azdailysun.com or 556-2250. |