The Fountain Festival of Arts and Crafts will take place in downtown Fountain Hills from November 8-10, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

The Avenue of the Fountains and Saguaro Boulevard will both be closed to vehicular traffic beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, to allow for infrastructure related to the event to be put in place before vendors are allowed in later that afternoon.

Last year, the Town’s Special Event Committee recommended closing the streets at noon on Thursday due to safety concerns with getting the infrastructure in place while streets were open and before it got dark.

“After evaluating last year’s events, the committee recommended moving back the closure a few hours to 2 p.m. this year while still allowing time to get everything into place safely,” Bryan Hughes, supervisor of recreation for the Town said.

“It will also allow residents and visitors to visit shops and restaurants along the Avenue during the lunch hour before setup begins that afternoon.”

Access to businesses along the Avenue is still available from the rear parking lots off Parkview Avenue after the Avenue is closed.

The streets will reopen on Monday, Nov. 11, after all infrastructure has been removed and streets cleared of trash.

so-tabM�n:��x � The annual Firewise Day will be Saturday, Nov. 9, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Rio Verde Community Center.

The Firewise Community status of Rio Verde and Tonto Verde require the annual event to provide information to the public. The event will feature reports about wildfire protection efforts and reports on the wildfire season in Arizona.

All Rio Verde and Tonto Verde residents are urged to attend this event.

To date the effort has cleaned up about 12.26 acres of open desert that surrounds the Verdes. This is not total removal of fuels, just clearing and removing those with the highest risk of fueling a fire.

The areas already cleared by the Verdes effort include the western boundary with McDowell Mountain Park.

Also underway are efforts to clean up the undergrowth in the area of Rio Verde Ranch.

With the assistance of Rio Verde Services the Firewise effort is also working with Tonto National Forest to bring in crews to work the eastern boundary between the Verde River and the communities.

A study is being done to determine what needs to be done, according to Rio Verde Fire District Capt. Mike Roggenstein, the Verdes Firewise coordinator. He notes that a portion of that boundary is against golf course fairways, which are an exceptionally effective defensive buffer.

“That and the Ranch will complete the (buffer) around the community,” Roggenstein said. “Firewise community leaders are taking an active role in identifying areas within the community that need attention, such as washes and where clutter or debris might collect.”

Beginning next year the Firewise effort will move into its maintenance role, Roggenstein said. They will be able to go back to where they started and take care of whatever improvements might be needed to mitigate fire danger.