Pinetop - Lakeside Talk of the Town

The 2025 White Mountains Sheriff's Posse Pony Express Ride

In April the White Mountains Sheriff's Posse will hold another Pony Express Ride. Richard Bilbie stops by to tell us all about it. You can use the contact information below for more information about this show or any other. For the Town Website - https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/ [https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/] To Call Town Hall - 928-368-8696 To Find the Contact Information of other departments - https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/152/Contact-Town-Offices [https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/152/Contact-Town-Offices] To contact Rob - rhephner@pinetoplakesideaz.gov [rhephner@pinetoplakesideaz.gov]

Walking Down Ranch in 2025

The leadership of Walking Down Ranch stopped by to talk about their organization and operations. You can use the contact information below for more information about this show or any other. For the Town Website - https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/ [https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/] To Call Town Hall - 928-368-8696 To Find the Contact Information of other departments - https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/152/Contact-Town-Offices [https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/152/Contact-Town-Offices] To contact Rob - rhephner@pinetoplakesideaz.gov [rhephner@pinetoplakesideaz.gov]

2025 Summer Nights (How we have changed from the Balloon Festival.)

Annie and Rob talk over the Changes from Balloon Fest to the new Pinetop-Lakeside Summer Nights Event. Pinetop-Lakeside Announces New Focus for Balloon Festival PINETOP-LAKESIDE, Ariz. – The Town of Pinetop-Lakeside has announced a change in focus for its signature summer event, the White Mountains Balloon Festival. Beginning this year, the event will now be known as "Pinetop-Lakeside Summer Nights" and will place a larger emphasis on live music, food and retail vendors, and family fun. Pinetop-Lakeside Summer Nights will be June 20 and 21, 2025, at Mountain Meadow Recreation Complex, 1101 S. Woodland Road, Lakeside. Since the balloon festival's inception in 2018, balloons have taken flight just 33 percent of the time scheduled. The cancelation of flights has been due to weather factors, including unpredictable winds, storms, and a forest closure in 2021. The region is experiencing its driest winter on record, and event organizers are anticipating the possibility of another forest closure this summer. The U.S. Forest Service has implemented forest closures in the area four times in the last 15 years: 2011, 2014, 2018 and 2021. "We are excited to pivot from the balloon festival to a music- and food-focused event for the entire family," said Pinetop-Lakeside Mayor Stephanie Irwin. "The event will now be two days and will feature more bands, more food and retail vendors, a beer garden, and hopefully will still include evening balloon activities. The biggest change with the event is the elimination of morning balloon flights and related activities. With the extremely dry conditions and the strong possibility of a forest closure that would prevent balloons from flying anyway, we think this is the right time to pivot to a new focus." Mayor Irwin emphasized that the evening portion of the event will be very much as it has been In previous years, but with even more bands and vendors. For more information on Summer Nights, Contact Community Services Director Tony Alba at 928-368-8696, ext. 240. You can use the contact information below for more information about this show or any other. For the Town Website - https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/ [https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/] To Call Town Hall - 928-368-8696 To Find the Contact Information of other departments - https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/152/Contact-Town-Offices [https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/152/Contact-Town-Offices] To contact Rob - rhephner@pinetoplakesideaz.gov [rhephner@pinetoplakesideaz.gov]

12-16-24 Pinedale Prescribed Burn Notice

PLEASE NOTE - BURN AREA IS SW of LINDEN Continuing Prescribed Fire Activity Planned on the Lakeside Ranger District Bear Burn Unit SPRINGERVILLE, Ariz. – December 12, 2024 – Fire managers plan to continue prescribed fireoperations on the Lakeside Ranger District of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests beginning December 16 through December 20, 2024, as weather and vegetation conditions allow for successful operations. * The Bear burn unit is 973 acres and is 3 miles southwest of Linden, Arizona. The project unit is within Forest Road 300, Forest Road 131, Forest Road 131A, Forest Road 9809L, Forest Road 9809R, Forest Road 143. This landscape treatment is a cooperative effort with Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, and Pinedale/Clay Springs Fire Department. The objective of this prescribed fire project is to reduce hazardous fuel accumulations, minimize the risk of high-severity wildfires, and return the landscape to a more fire-resistant condition, aligning with the Forest Service's Wildfire Crisis Strategy. The Forest Service's 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy [https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/wildfire-crisis] aims to reduce wildfire risk to people, communities, and natural resources while sustaining and restoring healthy, resilient fire-adapted forests. Smoke may be visible from the City of Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside, Communities of Pinedale, Clay Springs, and Linden, and along Highways 60, 77 and 260. Smoke could last for several days after initial ignitions take place, but should be significantly less each day afterwards. We recognize that smoke can impact residents, visitors, and our fire personnel. We will continue to coordinate closely with our partners and communities to minimize smoke impacts as much as possible. The department's Air Quality Division: Smoke Management webpage [https://legacy.azdeq.gov/environ/air/smoke/index.html] provides details about its air quality program. When smoke impacts are present, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality recommends that smoke sensitive individuals should reduce physical activity and stay indoors with windows and doors closed. For those who are unable to avoid smoke exposure, use of a particulate-filtering respirator mask can help. Real-time mapping of smoke and other air quality impacts is available at fire.airnow.gov [https://fire.airnow.gov/]. Visit the A-S National Forests website at [file:///C:/Users/tslade/OneDrive%20-%20USDA/Documents/PAO/News%20Releases/Fall%202024%20Rx%20Burns/Lakeside%20East/Visit%20the%20A-S%20National%20Forests%20website%20at] https://www.fs.usda.gov/asnf [https://www.fs.usda.gov/asnf]and follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/apachesitgreavesnfs [https://www.facebook.com/apachesitgreavesnfs]. You can use the contact information below for more information about this show or any other. For the Town Website - https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/ [https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/] To Call Town Hall - 928-368-8696 To Find the Contact Information of other departments - https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/152/Contact-Town-Offices [https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/152/Contact-Town-Offices] To contact Rob - rhephner@pinetoplakesideaz.gov [rhephner@pinetoplakesideaz.gov]

Council Member Focus - Jerry Smith

Continuing our TALK OF THE TOWN podcast focus on each of the Town's Council Members. This Episode features Jerry Smith https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/245/Jerry-Smith [https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/245/Jerry-Smith] You can use the contact information below for more information about this show or any other. For the Town Website - https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/ [https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/] To Call Town Hall - 928-368-8696 To Find the Contact Information of other departments - https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/152/Contact-Town-Offices [https://www.pinetoplakesideaz.gov/152/Contact-Town-Offices] To contact Rob - rhephner@pinetoplakesideaz.gov [rhephner@pinetoplakesideaz.gov]