About Us

Who Are We?

As a property owner/resident of the East Verde Park community, you are a part of the East Verde Park Fire District with a fire district board—an elected board of Gila County—responsible for making decisions on the provision of fire service to keep the community safe and aware of fire issues. The district is financed by your taxes and the meetings are open to all homeowners and residents. The Board contracts with Payson Fire Department for emergency services.

History of Community Fuels Removal Work

The East Verde Park community has a history of working together to clean up and maintain the neighborhood, whether the purpose is to clean common property, help residents who are unable to maintain their properties or to remove brush and debris from residents cleaning their property. Between 1986 and 2002 the Fire Board, in conjunction with the Payson Fire Department, scheduled brush burns near the river following these community clean-ups. In 2002 this was followed with a brush pickup utilizing resources from the Regional Payson Area Project.

In 2003 as a result of citizen concerns about the smoke from the community burns, the Fire Board turned to hiring a contractor with the help of volunteers to chip and remove the brush following community cleanups. Along with the volunteer hours worked a contractor was hired by the Fire Board remove the brush. Once Firewise was organized, the two organizations have worked together to encourage and assist property owners to maintain their properties in a firewise manner.