Winter wildfires, lack of rain pose challenges for Arizona firefighting crews

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The lack of rain and snow so far this year is having a major impact on the state’s fire conditions.

Right now, crews are fighting two fires north of the Valley- one near Black Canyon City and another near Payson.

So far this year, 2,149 fires have burned 281,262 acres across the state, which is more acreage than the cities of Scottsdale and Mesa combined. Last year, around this time, 1,817 fires burned 188,033 acres.

“There hasn’t really been a whole lot of moisture over the last handful of months, even over the monsoonal months. We didn’t get a whole lot of precipitation,” said Chris Reed, a fire prevention captain with the State Department of Forestry and Fire Management.

Reed said wildfires at this time of year pose a challenge as they don’t have all the resources they typically have earlier in the year.

“A lot of the staff has been working really hard through the summer months and now it’s kind of their opportunity to kind of go through their own maintenance period. Rest, Recover, and spend time with the family,” he said.

The state typically contracts firefighters from mid-May to either September or October. This is when it’s the busiest for wildfires. This is also the case for air support.

“Aircraft are usually off contract, or they’re in other regions across the country supporting either their wildfire season or down for maintenance,” Reed said.

Even though staffing isn’t the same in the winter months, Arizona is still prepared to fight a wildfire late in the year. They can hire temporary crews, including some from other states. For example, crews from California are helping to fight the Soap Fire currently burning near Black Canyon City.

“Until we get some more precipitation in the near future, the vegetation in the fire environment is just going to continue to support fire growth,” Reed said.

While the weather is nice, fire crews are urging people to be cautious when using flames outdoors, such as grills or fire pits, because everything is so dry and can light quickly.

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