Dear Editor,

As we leave the Woodbury Fire, the members of the Southwest Area Type 1 Incident Management Team 2 would like to extend our sincere thanks to the people who provided cooperation and assistance during our assignment.

We are especially grateful for the way the people of Gold Canyon, Apache Junction, Queen Valley, Superior, Roosevelt, Miami, Globe and surrounding areas welcomed us into your communities and helped in so many ways to make our jobs easier.

Many of you assisted directly through your labor, equipment and businesses, and our success would not have been possible without your help.

Your thank you cards and posters to our team and personnel provided much needed encouragement during a time when our firefighters were far from their homes and loved ones.

The smoke, increased traffic, and other disturbances that are inevitably a part of large wildfires impacted everyone in the area. We are grateful for your patience and understanding as we went about our work on the fire.

The support and coordination with the Tonto National Forest, Tonto National Monument, Bureau of Land Management Phoenix District, and the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management made it possible to execute timely decisions and implement decisive actions in order to protect firefighters, the public, and other values.

You can be proud of how you’ve come together to help your neighbors and the firefighters who have been your guests.

As our firefighting troops return home, they will take with them an appreciation for the beauty of Arizona and the cooperative spirit of the people.

Once again, we extend to you our sincerest thanks for your support and for the privilege of helping you during a difficult time.

Sincerely,

Rich Nieto

Incident Commander Southwest Area Type 1

Incident Management Team 2