Prevention keeps homes safe from merciless wildfires Slide, Schultz, Brins, La Barranca, Wallow, Yarnell and Rodeo-Chediski are not the names of seven city council members, but the names of forest fires seared into the memory of Arizona residents.
Local weather has been unseasonably cold and wet thus far — we had snow the week before Memorial Day weekend. But even so, the May wetness does not preclude the probability of a wild and dangerous wildfire season.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, “Unlike most years, there could be a delayed start to the season in the higher, timbered elevations” — such as Northern Arizona — “due to preexisting weather conditions and slower than average snowpack melting rates.”
Fire officials fear that the uncharacteristically cold and wet weather this month may lead some residents to neglect preparing their homes for fire season.
Most of the Mountain West, from Texas to Nevada and the Rio Grande to Wyoming, is predicted to have a lower fire risk through June and July, but higher risk across southern Arizona.
The increased wet weather this month means vegetation is growing fast to take advantage of all that moisture, but will dry out as hot summer temperatures dries them out later in the season.
“Green-up is occurring across the nation entering May,” the NIFC reports. “Fuels across the Southwest are now drying and curing and will become increasingly receptive to fire activity.
“In July, low and middle elevation fine fuels will dry across the remainder of the West and will gradually become receptive to fire activity from south to north.”
The Arizona monsoon may be slightly delayed this season, meaning fires that begin in June and July will have to wait longer for Mother Nature to extinguish them. Any fire that does start in our region will have to be aggressively fought to prevent loss of life or property and many fires that begin in isolated areas may be allowed to burn to thin forests and conserve firefighting resources for more dangerous and threatening fires.
By August, Arizona will be right in the middle of a regular fire season — not uncharacteristically dry nor unusually wet.
According to the NIFC, “A heavy crop of grasses and fine fuels has developed across California and should elevate the potential as it cures and dries. Higher elevations in the Sierra will likely see a late entry into the season due to the record-setting snowpack and slow meltoff.”
This means that fires in California have the potential to carry smoke east across our state, as has happened in past years when major wildfires raged across our neighboring state, and could be coupled with local fires burning in our region.
As we enter fire season, take advantage of the cooler weather to create a defensible space around your home if you haven’t already.
We regularly print guidelines from SFD and fire agencies. Contact SFD or your local fire agency and have a fire marshal or trained firefighter check your property and recommend ways to protect your home.
The first step is prevention and that starts with us. While fire restrictions on U.S. Forest Service and public lands differ, the basics are:
- Fires, campfires, woodstove and charcoal fires are allowed only in developed campgrounds and picnic areas.
- Smoking is permitted within an enclosed vehicle or building or in a developed recreation area.
- Fireworks are prohibited.
For the 2019 fire season, let’s do our best to make sure the only wildfire story that appears in our newspapers is how restrictions and fire-wise residents kept us safe all the way to the start of the monsoon.
— Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
