WILLIAMS — Williams received a light dusting of snow this morning matching the NOAA forecast of snow before 11 a.m. By 10 a.m. the sun was out making for a fairly warm morning.
The forecast is for the weather to clear off today through Monday night. Tuesday through Thursday the forecast shows snow and rain which brings the possibility of slick sidewalks and icy roads.
There is a chance of a white Christmas with the chance of snow returning on the 25th.
WILLIAMS — Last night about twenty citizens of the Williams community braved the cold to spread Christmas carols. If they had waited just one more day, it would have been a much warmer night.
Kids and adults still seemed in good spirits as they headed off to share the joy of the season in song.
FLAGSTAFF — The Sheriff’s Office and Coconino County Emergency Management will conduct 20 hours of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training for teen-aged citizens who live in or near the above listed areas. The training is offered free of charge and will be held on three Saturdays in January at the Williams Justice Court/Coconino County Sheriff’s Office located at 700 West Railroad Avenue, Williams, Arizona.
The training dates and times are
CERT, Community Emergency Response Team grew out of the natural desire to help others during and after a natural disaster. The first people on most scenes after a disaster are survivors who want to help.
The primary objective of Teen CERT is to teach young citizens how to keep themselves, their family members and their fellow students safe before and during a disaster and how to assist them during the aftermath of a disaster. Teens will learn how to best prepare for a disaster and how to assess the scene after a disaster. They will also learn how to conduct a search and rescue operation and how to suppress small fires.
Participants will receive 6 hours of training in disaster medical operations and learn how to conduct injured victim triage. They will learn the Incident Command System and how to communicate with professional emergency responders in the most efficient way possible. Following the training successful participants will be prepared to help when disaster strikes until professional responders arrive.
Chief Deputy Sheriff Jim Driscoll believes teens in Coconino County are an untapped resource and by offering this training the Sheriff’s Office is joining a fast growing national trend to train teens as the next generation of citizens who are prepared for emergencies and natural disasters.
After the training, teens that successfully completed the course will be encouraged to join one of the many CERT Teams that exist in Coconino County. In doing so they will receive additional training and be given the opportunity to assist first responders during emergencies and non-emergencies. Successful participants will be given a CERT backpack with some basic emergency response equipment.
Interested teens who would like more information or who wish to register for this training are asked to call Sergeant James Steng at (928) 679-8735 or (928) 607-6470.
WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest is announcing the release of an informational video explaining the importance of wildland fire in the ecosystems of northern Arizona from the perspectives of various natural and cultural resource specialists.
Over the last decade, the Kaibab has managed both wildfire and prescribed fire to treat approximately 300,000 acres for a variety of objectives. That work wouldn’t have been possible without employees from all program areas actively engaging in the management of fire across the landscape, according to Kaibab fire staff officer Art Gonzales. Because of those ongoing efforts, Gonzales thought it important to highlight a part of the wildland fire world that most people never get to see.
“Typically, most fire videos provide a fire management officer, fuels specialist or fire ecologist perspective on why we believe fire across the landscape is essential for a number of reasons,” Gonzales said. “I wanted to take this video in a new direction, a direction in which those folks who are often the critical link in a successful program do not remain behind the scenes or go unnoticed. I was looking for a video about fire but from a non-fire perspective.”
To that end, Gonzales teamed with the Southwest Fire Science Consortium and producer Josh McDaniel to create a 10-minute video entitled “Keeping Fire on the Ground: Resource Specialist Perspectives on the Kaibab National Forest,” which can be viewed at https://youtu.be/IpFWb5NDyPI.
“I am hopeful this is a product that can be used to help educate, raise awareness, and highlight the collective efforts necessary to build a successful wildland fire management program,” Gonzales said. “On the Kaibab, we have been fortunate to have past and present employees at all levels of the organization who truly understand fire and who have helped build an extensive history of using wildland fire to achieve benefits to many resource areas across the forest, from protection of the wildland urban interface to ecosystem restoration to cultural and heritage site preservation and more. It is critical that this important work continue, and I hope the video will help spread the word about our efforts.”
WILLIAMS — Weather in Williams has warmed up to the mid-30s. Santa Fe is frozen over and visitors are enjoying the snow.
Tomorrow and Saturday temperatures may rise to nearly 50, but higher winds could roll in Saturday with gusts up to 30-mph making the jackets still necessary. There is a 10% chance of showers Saturday night and Sunday morning before 11 a.m. Weather should clear Monday and chance of showers return Tuesday, according to the latest forecast.
In the meantime, the Zipline is open for business until it is actually snowing or raining. Visitors are enjoying the weather with special construction projects.
WILLIAMS — The Advent Concert Sunday was a beautiful mix of voices from St. John’s Episcopal-Lutheran Church and St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church. Occasionally it included the voices of the guests who joined in for some of the songs.
The music was directed by George Albers and included the combined voices of Father’s Marc McDonald of St. John’s and Kilian McCaffery on O Holy Night.
The music was a mix of old gospel favorites from around the world with a few contemporary songs.
A reception was held after hosted by Sally Burcham.
The last free Advent Concert will be Sunday, December 20 at 4 p.m.
WILLIAMS — High winds began about 9:30 this morning and by 8 a.m., Williams had a covering of about 3″ from the overnight storm. It is not over yet. NOAA predicts snow throughout the day. The sun peeked out for a couple of hours, but clouds began to reappear by about 10:45.
Road conditions are reported to be hazardous. Social media reports that one person had to turn back to Williams at Parks because of white out conditions. Another report is that the plowing between Williams and Ash Fork had not started.
The crews of the City of Williams were out about 8 a.m. clearing the roadways.
WILLIAMS — There are only two more free Advent concerts at St. John’s Episcopal-Lutheran Church this season. The Church is located at 202 W. Grant Street next to the Williams City Christmas Tree.
The next concert is this Sunday at 4 p.m. The choirs of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and St. John’s will join together in a selection of Christmas favorites. If Reverend Marc McDonald is there to sing, you won’t want to miss it.
The last concert will be Sunday, December 20 at 4 p.m. It will feature guest musicians Anthony Flesch on the flute and Joel Rieck on acoustic guitar.
St. John’s hosts a reception after each concert. The concerts are free, but donations are gratefully accepted.
WILLIAMS — With the recent snowfall and more expected in the coming months, it seems a good time to cover the snow removal plans and the ordnances pertaining to that plan.
The City of Williams adopted a snow removal plan structured to open most City streets within 7 hours after a major storm. The city workers have, in the past, done an excellent job in getting the street clear after a snow storm.
The city watches the weather report and when snow acumulations 3-inches or more are predicted, they activate the plan and snow ordnances go into effect.
The clearing of streets is based on the following schedule of priorities:
The ordinances in effect for snow removal are as follows:
SNOW & ICE REMOVAL FROM SIDEWALKS:
Article 8-7.02 0 Every person in charge of any building or lot of land fronting or abutting on a paved sidewalk shall remove and clear away, or cause to be removed and cleared away, snow and ice from a path of at least 36″ in width. Snow and ice shall be removed from sidewalks in all business districts in the City within 24 hours after the cessation of any fall of snow, sleet or freezing rain. Snow and ice shall be so removed from all other sidewalks within the same day of the cessation of any fall of snow, sleet or freezing rain within the first 6 hours of daylight after the cessation of any such fall, whichever period is longer. If snow and ice on sidewalk has become so hard that it cannot be
removed. without damaging the sidewalk, sand or other abrasive must be put on the sidewalk to make travel possible. As soon as possible a path must be cleared.
PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITIES
Per the City of Williams Ordinance 626, the public is responsible for the following during snow storms:
PARKING:
Article 8-7.07 No person shall park or be permitted to park any vehicle on any public street, boulevard or alley during snow removal.
FAILURE TO PERFORM:
Article 8-7.08 If a vehicle is parked in violation of this code the Police Department is authorize to remove the vehicle, or cause it to be removed at the expense of the person owning or
controlling such vehicle.
Article 8-7.06 In the event of the failure of any person to perform the requirements stated above, the Public Works Director may cause such work to be done by the City and the responsible person shall be charged the cost of the work plus a 10% charge.
WILLIAMS — If you reserved your tickets for the Polar Express tonight, you picked a winner. With little snow yesterday, Williams woke up to a fine blanket of snow which made for a beautiful morning.
Williams received about an inch of snow overnight. By afternoon the city had received about three-inches. It is expected to clear up overnight with the chance of snow picking up Sunday night through Monday night. Another 2-4 inches is possible.
I do not usually wake up early especially on a weekend. I had to take an exam in Flagstaff, however, and was pleasantly surprised by the winter wonderland. If you plan to visit Williams, plan a tour around in the early morning or early evening to check out the city lights.
I-40 this morning was slick and heavy with snow, but amazingly clear of accidents. On the return trip leaving Flagstaff about 12 p.m., we encountered only one accident which did not block or delay traffic.
Flagstaff received about the same amount of snow, but likely Snow Bowl is benefiting from the eight-inches predicted above 8000′. The snow is not finished, however, and an inch or two more might fall before the evening.
More photos on our Facebook page.