Kaibab Estates West Volunteer Fire Department

06/14/2026

The volunteers had the pleasure of accepting an invitation to a BBQ courtesy of a local resident. Our newest Brush 2 was given prime parking and lots of love. Many thanks to Rod and his lovely family for some of the best BBQ meats and fixins, great conversations, and a tour of your amazing property. It turns out many of the attendees were current or former fire service personnel. Oh the dessert bar was spectacular! It was a very nice event!

06/11/2026

Look for another dry day before moisture begins to sneak across northern Arizona starting Friday. We will likely only see a few cloud buildups on Friday but over the weekend, look for showers and thunderstorms scattered around northern Arizona. Activity could linger into Monday. The first taste of our coming monsoon, let's hope it's a good one.

06/11/2026

Tonight's training started with a first in medical review. A short video then went over the drop tank process. Captain Charlie used the chalk board and the sandtray to talk more about what is needed, the value of placement, along with why we need a game plan. Then the hands on began. All the volunteers got to experience the various steps involved. We ended the evening with a review. During this training we discovered mismatched hoses and ends. This is the perfect time to discover what we need to do to fix it. Thanks Captain Charlie and Joe for the useful information. Thank you volunteers for your time and dedication.

06/09/2026

06/09/2026

Fire danger across all three of our districts remains VERY HIGH, and therefore, we remain in fire restrictions across the entirety of the Coconino National Forest.

Here's more information about what you can and can't do during stage 1 fire restrictions: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/coconino/alerts/stage-1-fire-restrictions-effect

If you see an abandoned campfire -- or any other fire restrictions violation -- you can always call our dispatch at 928-527-3552 to report it.

06/07/2026

Please refrain from burning, it is just too dangerous.

06/07/2026

The KEW Volunteers are grateful for and honored by the presence of Assistant Chief Mel Stump. Today we celebrated his 20 years of volunteer service to the KEW Community. He has been the Chief, an EMT, a firefighter, and Assistant Chief. In the early days, Mel would take his wife Barbara with him on the late night calls so he wasn't alone. Mel was instrumental in acquiring the funding to build the 5 bay Bunger Steel building. So, today in his honor, we dedicated that building to him. It was a great turnout with over 25 people present.

The commemorative plaque was a vision of Chief Laurie. Thank you to Cris Acosta and Bob Broehm from AFJUSD for the design and implementation. It turned out perfect. Thank you Captain Charlie for the addition of the paint, finishing, and mounting. Thank you Mark for taking care of the BBQ.

05/30/2026

County wide fire restrictions are in effect. Currently we are in Stage 1. That means the burn must occur in a developed area. There must be 30 feet of clearance around and above the burn. It must be contained in a ring, barrel, or pit. Use Extreme caution, keep eyes on it, have water and shovel handy, and keep it small. Limit the danger by starting small and putting small amounts on at a time. ALWAYS be aware of the wind carrying embers to other dry trees. Only burn wood products, paper, and cardboard. Plastics is never allowed.

Our trees are dry and all it takes is one ember.

05/30/2026

Extraordinary workday today. So much was accomplished. The bays were swept, the new windsock was installed, (Thank you Native 22 for the replacement!) And the landing zone was cleared of debris.

Our first priority was an all crew cleaning and clearing of our landing zone. All possible hazards were picked up and stubborn weeds were burned. Supervisor Penny made sure it was done correctly.

The Command got an oil change and a dust blow out. Our sign on Double A was updated to reflect County wide fire restrictions. Monthly paperwork was nearly done (Chief will be back at it tomorrow.) The compressor had its monthly draining and AEDs were checked. (Thanks Joe for checking dates!) Display flags were carefully wrapped in plastic to preserve them. Installation of scene lights on B2 was completed. T3 received a dome light. We also threw in training on the pressurized water canister carried in Command.

All followed by an awesome breakfast of ham steaks, shredded potatoes, eggs, biscuits, and cinnamon rolls...thank you to chefs Laurie and Robin.

05/25/2026

On this Memorial Day KEW Fire honors the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to this great nation. To those who continue to serve and their families, thank you.