Is this fire season worse than usual?
State forestry and fire officials say more than 1,100 blazes so far this year have charred over 453,000 acres of Arizona
Last year was one of Arizona’s most damaging wildfire seasons in a decade, burning close to 1 million acres. As of late June, Arizona appeared to be on track for an equally intense 2021 season.
So far this year, 1,106 wildfires have ignited across the state and burned more than 453,000 acres as of June 25 — a 22% increase in land burned compared with the same period last year, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management said.
Communities large and small have faced a loss of property and animal life, and agencies have stretched themselves thin to combat the blazes.
Earlier in the year, Officer John Truett with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management predicted a “very severe potential” for wildfires to rapidly spread across the state.
Truett noted that an early start to the wildfire season combined with persistent drought, exceptionally dry vegetation and recreational traffic could contribute to a disastrous wildfire season, as it did in 2020.
The Sour Fire was the first major wildfire to ignite in the state on Jan. 17 and charred about 1,200 acres in Yavapai County. In 2020, the Horse Fire burned 9,537 acres in the last weeks of October, leaving a mere 77 days as the off-season.
The fire information page of Arizona’s Department of Forestry and Fire Management bluntly says “there is no ‘wildfire season’ anymore.” Perhaps they are right.
Most reported wildfires are small. Out of the hundreds of fires documented each year, only a small fraction of those reach disastrous numbers.
For example, in 2019, Arizona saw a total of 1,864 wildfires but only 71 burned 100 acres or more, according to the Southwest Coordination Center.
That number was less in 2018, when only 52 of the state’s 1,966 wildfires burned at least 100 acres of land.
June plays a pivotal role in these numbers since this is when wildfire acreage soars. Arizona’s typical wildfire season sees a sharp increase that month, when the average number of fires over 100 acres reaches 31.5 by the end of June. This number slows as summer progresses.
Data for 2020 was not available but the Southwest Coordination Center found that between 2016 and 2019, the average number of fires over 100 acres by June 30 remained consistent at 32.
June’s increase in wildfires is due in part to the monsoon, says Tiffany Davila with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
“We normally begin to see an increase in fire activity early May through mid-July when we enter the peak of our monsoon season,” she said.
June in particular is their “active time.” As monsoon storms enter the state and swell, they bring dry lightning systems that can easily ignite a fire.
The rain and humidity that accompany those storms typically help slow their spread and reduce the number of fires that spark, Davila said.
Her assessment agrees with the numbers. Of the 25 wildfires over 100 acres that sparked this June, nine were confirmed to be caused by lightning, one was human-caused and all others were still under investigation.
And while monsoon activity may be pivotal to the anticipated increase in fires, 2021 seems to be different.
Last year, 1,014 wildfires occurred in the state by the end of June, burning 369,667 acres of state, federal, tribal and private land. This year’s 1,106 wildfires have burned 22% more land at 453,628 acres.
Out of the 1,106 fires, 51 grew to 100 acres or larger and more than half of those burned more than 1,000 acres. The month isn’t over.
That is partly due to monsoon activity and the lack of rainfall. The state’s decrease in rain, particularly last year, has led to an increase in heat and drought.
This creates “drought-stressed fuel” with dry vegetation and, according to Davila, causes wildfires to spread more easily and more rapidly.
The one factor that may tame this year’s fires: the pending monsoon storms. like red brome grass that fights native plants for water resources.
Wesley also said that with these higher, drier temperatures, plants are unable to retain enough moisture to reduce flammability.
“Standing live plants are so dry that they’re like standing fuel,” she said, so much that it can feel “like a tinderbox” out there for fire crews.
The Mescal Fire near Globe burned approximately 78,517 acres on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in its 21day blaze, a combination of desert land hardy to heat but not fire and forest land that can withstand some of the flames.
Skunkbush berries and the acorns from emory oak — two ingredients used frequently in Apache cuisine — burned in the fire, as well as access to cultural sites. Areas used in the sunrise dance, a four-day coming-of-age ceremony held for Apache girls, were either closed or burned.
Additionally, recreational areas typically open to the public were closed, interfering with the tribe’s summer economy.
In his 28 years on the job, John Castaneda could not remember a wildfire season like this year.
Castaneda, the program manager for the Gila County Animal Care and Control Division, said the season has impacted the small agency’s limited resources and capabilities when evacuating domestic animals in huge numbers.
“The Telegraph Fire is probably the biggest incident where we had to pull a bunch of animals,” Castaneda said.
Residents who lack appropriate transportation for livestock or who are unable to evacuate immediately with their pets end up calling the county’s animal control division.
Castaneda recalled cats, dogs, goats, one zebra and hundreds of cattle and horses that required evacuation or rescuing from the fire. All of this has put a strain on employees and available resources.
“I only have four staff, that’s including myself,” Castaneda said. “It’s dangerous for my guys to go in behind the lines and get these animals out.”
Unfortunately, not all of the animals make it.
Castaneda mentioned that the intensity of the Telegraph Fire also marked the first year the department dealt with domestic animals that died as a result of the fire.
“I’ve heard different numbers,” he said. “I’ve heard up to 50 animals had died but I only know officially about 5. This is the first time that we’ve had animals perish in a wildfire here in Gila County since I’ve been here.”
For Wesley, it was that loss of traditional resources and areas on the reservation that caused fear and anxiety in Wesley’s community on the San Carlos Apache Reservation.
“Our home is not that four-walled structure. That’s not our home,” Wesley said. “The whole 1.8 million acres is our homeland. That is our home.”