Rain both good, bad in fighting wildfires
Precipitation helpful, but lightning poses risk
Wednesday’s rainfall is both “good and bad” for current wildfire conditions across the state, weather and fire officials say.
“Any type of rainfall is helpful, but it is difficult because it is kind of a double-edged sword,” said Tim Steffen, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff. “The rainfall is good but any type of additional thunderstorm activity can be a hindrance.”
Starting Tuesday night, light showers and wind gusts up to 45 mph swept through most parts of Maricopa County, with a temperature dip to 87 de
grees. The rain that arrived Tuesday night was the first drops of precipitation the Valley received in June.
About 0.06 inches of rain was recorded so far at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the weather service tweeted around 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Some parts of northern Arizona, including Flagstaff, Sedona and Williams, have a greater than 50% chance of precipitation with the potential of thunderstorm activity across western portions of Coconino and Yavapai counties for Wednesday afternoon, according to the weather service.
Celeste Prescott, public information officer on the Backbone Fire burning near the communities of Pine and Strawberry, said it started to rain near the Backbone Fire around 10 a.m., initially being “hit-and-miss” but now, the rainfall is “measurable.”
Due to the rainfall Tuesday night, as well as a rise in humidity, Prescott said the Backbone Fire was not as active as it previously was.
“We don’t necessarily have to get rain on the fire for it to help us out because when the cloud cover comes in and the humidity rises it really helps add a little bit of moisture into those extremely dry fuels,” she said.
As of Wednesday morning, the Backbone Fire had consumed 38,321 acres with 1% of the fire contained, according to wildfire tracking website InciWeb operated by the U.S. Forest Service.
Steffen said rainfall has fallen over some of the gauges of the Backbone Fire, reporting “500ths of rainfall.”
While this rainfall is relatively light, Prescott said any rainfall helps slow the spread and bring moisture back into the fuels that are driving the fires.
Penny Bertram, public information officer on the Telegraph Fire burning near Globe, said there is a slight chance that this light rainfall could also hit the area near the Telegraph Fire, but it’s hard to tell.
As of Wednesday morning, the Telegraph Fire had consumed 180,725 acres with 89% containment, according to InciWeb.
She said regardless of whether the rain hits the fire or not, the higher relative humidity due to the storms across the state affects the fire’s fuel moistures.
However, the risk that comes with today’s rainfall is the possibility of thunder and lightning storms which could negatively impact wildfire conditions.
Steffen said additional lightning strikes and gusty outflow winds can potentially bring the start of a new fire, making it harder for crews to contain.
“(Lightning strikes) could start a new fire on an existing fire that’s going on or it could start a new start,” he said. “With the gusty winds that develop, they are usually unpredictable as far as direction when they form from these thunderstorms, so these can be definitely very difficult for firefighting crews.”
Prescott said the erratic winds could shift and push the fire back on crews, and any new fire start could limit current crew’s abilities on the fire line.
Those firefighters working on containing the Backbone Fire have plans in place to “mitigate any problems” that may occur as a result of the thunderstorms, she said.
Although the rain is currently helping calm wildfire conditions, this is not a quick fix, Prescott said.
“People need to be cognizant that a little bit of rain isn’t going to put this fire out, and as soon as we get a little wind and sun back on it, these fuels are going to dry out quickly and any other lightning strikes could dry out and take off on us,” she said.
According to the weather service, the forecast will return to sunny skies today and Friday, with highs reaching normal temperatures of up to 108 degrees.