Some of Arizona’s most devastating wildfires have happened well outside the boundaries of typical wildfire season.
“Last year in April we already had two large impactful wildfires burning,” said Robert Rickey, a National Weather Service Flagstaff meteorologist.
In 2022, more than 120,000 acres were burned across Arizona, already a huge decrease in the number of acres burned compared to 2020 and 2021.
“We really are not on that path right now,” said Tiffany Davila, a public information officer for Arizona Forestry and Fire Management.
With around 10,000 acres burned so far this year, what’s the reason for 2023’s lack of wildfire activity?
“We had a very wet monsoon season…we had an epic nearly historic winter with tons of snow,” said Rickey.
That wet pattern lingered into our spring and the into start of this year’s wildfire season giving our fuels, or vegetation, more time to hold onto their moisture.
“The forecast for basically the entire state of Arizona is near- to below-normal fire activity at this point,” said Rickey.
However, Davila says “there is always a potential across the state. We don’t want to get people’s hopes up and say there is never going to be fires because there is always going to be wildfires.”
With temperatures heating up and monsoon in play, the weather could cause potential fires.
“We do get dry lightning storms during monsoon season so now not only do we have that human component, but we have Mother Nature starting wildfires also,” said Davila.
It’s important to be prepared — create that defensive space around your home that puts a buffer between your property and potential wildfire.
“Really preparing for the fire season and managing the fire season is a year-round commitment,” said Rickey.
