The Groom Creek Fire District has been awarded a Western Bark Beetle Initiative Grant in the amount of $47,617 for the mitigation of the slash and hazard trees from the September 27, 2014 EF-1 Tornado that affected the Groom Creek area. This 50/50 matching funds grant will require the homeowners in the area to sign a work authorization form and contribute $268.72 each to complete the chipping and cutting on their property.
Piles of firewood length logs will be stacked by the roads and on slopes in direct sunlight as much as possible to help the larger diameter material dry out and limit the bark beetle damage in the future. This firewood is free to the public and can be taken at any time. Smaller diameter material will be chipped and hauled out of the district.
If you are one of the affected homeowners and would like to have this work done, please call Chief Bentley at the Fire Station to schedule a time to meet and sign the authorization form. It can be mailed or emailed to you as well. We are hoping to have this work completed by the end of March. Information about signs of bark beetle infestations can be found here. We need to be diligent in our efforts to minimize the potential for a large scale beetle outbreak.
