The National Weather Service warned of excessive heat for areas below 4,000 feet throughout Northern Arizona over the weekend. Flagstaff, Cottonwood, Page and Winslow all set records this weekend.
Of course, given the amount of smoke in the air in Sedona and the Verde Valley due to nearby wildfires, “outside” was uncomfortable for all sorts of reasons.
Fortunately, cooler weather is expected to drop temperatures below the 100 degree mark this week. Even if a week in the upper 90s feels agonizingly hot, just keep in mind we’re thankfully not in the Phoenix area, which is still 10 to 15 degrees hotter. Expect a lot of Phoenicians to escape the heat in Oak Creek in the weeks to come.
Also among the good news, according the U.S. Forest Service, “Operations on the Mormon Fire are ramping down and burnout operations have ceased. The Mormon Fire is moving into monitor status with firefighters conducting mop-up and removing hazardous trees. Residual smoke will continue to be present as firefighters work to fully contain the fire.”
USFS fire crews were using the lightning-caused blaze and several others as forest management, filling our skies with gray haze in the mornings, a giant plume of doom in the afternoons and making the air stink of bad campfire all night long.
The Mormon Fire was initially expected to burn through mid-June, but fire managers have scaled back the burn and plan to have it contained within the week. The other fires have already been reduced so that their smoke is negligible in comparison.
We can only hope the mixture of wildfire and heat will be a temporary combination. June, July and August are obviously the year’s hottest months, but by mid-June the Arizona monsoon hits and wickedly hot days through the rest of the summer are tempered by monsoon rainfall. The precipitation also makes wildfires easier to battle, contain and extinguish. However, fire risk hasn’t diminished.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center’s June 1 Executive Summary, “Normal significant wildland fire potential is expected for much of the Southwest for June, July, August and September. However, an area of above normal significant fire potential is expected during June and early July across many of the lower elevation areas south of the Mogollon Rim.”
If you see smoke unrelated to an already known wildfire or controlled burn, report it immediately. An abandoned campfire, cigarette butt or lightning strike could quickly spread into a major wildfire.
While monsoon rains may douse our valley, it only takes a few days of dry weather to turn our region back into kindling. Quick reporting of a brush fire allows local fire crews to squelch it quickly so we do not face another La Barranca, Brins or Slide fire this year.
Enjoy the summer. Stay cool, stay hydrated and most importantly stay alert.
