Watch Hill firefighters completed another one of their annual Community Risk Reduction Programs by removing trash, debris, driftwood, and other potential fire starting materials from the Napatree Point Conservation Area.

Every fall, as the temperatures drop in the evenings, visitors to our community tend to try to start illegal and unsafe fires on the beach to stay warm. These fires are a clear safety hazard and create a significant risk of spreading to the large areas of dry dune and scrub grass in many of the ecologically sensitive habitats along Napatree Point.

By removing the potential firewood, we effectively prevent many fires while also reducing the size of others.

This year, five Watch Hill firefighters participated in the annual Community Risk Reduction program using two pickup trucks, two flatbed trailers, and the Fire Department ATV.

The firefighters collected and removed one thousand four hundred and eighty (1,480) pounds of driftwood.

In addition, to prevent injuries to the thousands that visit Napatree Point each week, they also removed many pieces of dangerous rusted metal as well as other debris that had washed ashore including numerous metal lobster pots and even an old tire with a rusted rim.

This is just one of the many Community Risk Reduction Programs initiated each year by Watch Hill Firefighters as they work to protect the Watch Hill Community.

The Napatree Point Conservation Area is 86 pristine acres of some of the rarest habitats in Rhode Island. Napatree is a community resource and is open to the public year-round. Napatree Point extends more than a mile west into Little Narragansett Bay from the village of Watch Hill.