Forest Lakes, Arizona
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| Forest Lakes, Arizona | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| Counties | Coconino |
| Elevation | 7,546 ft (2,300 m) |
| Time zone | MST (UTC-7) |
Forest Lakes is a small unincorporated community in Coconino County in the northern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is located on the edge of the Mogollon Rim and is in close proximity to several recreational lakes within the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, and is named for such.
Forest Lakes had previously been named Merzville.
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[edit] Geography
Forest Lakes is located at (34.3375, -110.798056)[1].
As an unincorporated community, Forest Lakes does not have defined boundaries. The Forest Lakes Estates subdivision as recorded on the Coconino County Assessor's maps, has an area of approximately 1.89 square miles (4.9 km²).
[edit] Demographics
Forest lakes is located within ZIP Code 85931. The ZIP Code is primarily unsettled, rural forest lands with the exception of Forest Lakes.
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 266 people, 136 households, and 97 families residing in the ZCTA for ZIP Code 85931. There were 916 housing units. The racial makeup of the ZCTA was 99.20% White, 0.40% Native American, and 0.40% Asian. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.61% of the population.
There were 136 households out of which 7.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.1% were married couples living together, 1.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96 and the average family size was 2.29.
In the ZCTA the population was spread out with 7.1% under the age of 18, 0.8% from 18 to 24, 12.8% from 25 to 44, 42.1% from 45 to 64, and 36.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 60.5 years. For every 100 females there were 110.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.6 males.
The median income for a household in the ZCTA was $34,773, and the median income for a family was $34,219. The per capita income for the ZCTA was $21,981. About 9.2% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] History
The area that would become Forest Lakes began as a mining operation in 1939 when the Denison family began mining manganese in the area. Heavy demand for the metal from the United States federal government helped ensure steady mining operations into the 1960s, when the family turned to logging to sustain their income.[3]
In May of 1964, the land was subdivided into the first Forest Lakes Estates subdivision unit, and the homeowners association, the Forest Lakes Owners Association, was organized.[4]
With the construction of numerous recreational lakes in the area, demand for vacation homes grew and spurred the creation of 10 additional units to the subdivision, with the last being created in May of 1969.[5]
[edit] Rodeo-Chediksi Fire
On the afternoon of June 18, 2002, a fire - later determined to be set by an arsonist - was spotted near Cibecue, 27 miles (43 km) southwest of Forest Lakes. While the fire rapidly grew to cover 10,000 acres (4,000 ha), there was no immediate threat to the Forest Lakes area.
Two days later on June 20, a stranded hiker who had been lost for 3 days set a signal fire to get the attention of news helicopters that had been covering the Rodeo Fire. While the hiker was rescued, the signal fire unexpectedly grew in the dry conditions and quickly flared up. The resultant blaze, the Chediski Fire, was considerably closer, 14 miles (23 km) south of Forest Lakes.
On June 22, the fires combined and moved further northward, threatening several communities including Show Low, Heber-Overgaard and Pinetop-Lakeside. Forest Lakes, also threatened, was evacuated at 1:00 PM that afternoon.[6] The blaze moved to within 0.5 miles (0.80 km) of Forest Lakes on June 28, but efforts to save the community prevailed and no homes in the settlement were damaged.
[edit] Notes
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ History of Forest Lakes. Forest Lakes Owners Association (2005-04-09). Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
- ^ CCR Unit 1. Forest Lakes Owners Association (1964-05-25). Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
- ^ CCR Unit 11. Forest Lakes Owners Association (1969-05-28). Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
- ^ Rodeo-Chediski. Forest Lakes Owners Association. Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
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