Crown King Rolls Out Red Carpet For AmeriCorps*NCCC Defenders
by Ashley Hackel
Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004 at 4:43 AM
pthwlead@yahoo.com 443-831-9560 General Mailing, Crown King, AZ 85327
CROWN KING, AZ – A team of 12 AmeriCorps* National Civilian Community Corps (AmeriCorps*NCCC) members will be working with the Crown King Fire District [Ashley, is this how the fire department abbreviates their name? CKFD)] in wildfire mitigation and fuel reduction for the next six weeks.
AmeriCorps*NCCC and the CKFD will remove dead trees and clear brush and decayed vegetation from the forest floor in an effort to reduce potential wildfire fuels. In addition, the clearing of debris will create pockets of open areas, which will enable fire fighters to respond quickly to rapidly spreading fires. Along with fire mitigation and fuel reduction, the AmeriCorps*NCCC and CKFD will educate the community in how appropriate personal property upkeep can prevent wildfires.
The Crown King Fire District consists of two paid fire fighters through the State Fire Assistance grant and 21 volunteer fire fighters. Formed in 1980 as a hazards response unit providing 24 hour, 7 day a week assistance, its mission is to, “Save lives and protect the property of all residents and visitors to the Crown King area, whenever and wherever the need arises.”
“We are extremely excited to be living and working within the community,” Ashley Hackel, an AmeriCorps*NCCC member said. “We feel that it’s a privilege to be able to improve the likelihood of saving forests and lives from a wildfire that could devastate such beauty and wonderful people.”
AmeriCorps * NCCC is part of AmeriCorps, a network of national service programs created to improve the environment, enhance education, increase public safety, and assist with disaster relief and other unmet human needs. The Western Region Campus, located in Sacramento, California serves Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and the territories of Guam and Samoa. The Western Region campus is one of five campuses in the United States; the others include Perry Point, MD; Charleston, SC; Washington D.C.; and Denver, CO.
The AmeriCorps members must complete at least 1,700 hours of service during a 10-month program. In exchange for their service, they receive a $4,725 to help pay for college, or pay off school loans. AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service. For information about applying to an AmeriCorps program, call 1-800-942-2677 (1-800-94-ACORP) or visit the website at http://www.americorps.org.
