Wet weather is good news for fire crews battling Arizona wildfires
PHOENIX - Wet weather on June 23 brought some relief for fire crews across the state, as a very active wildfire season has put a strain on manpower and resources.
" We had a lightning burst that came through a couple days ago and started all of these fires within the Prescott and Flagstaff area, so that in itself is keeping people busy," said Tiffany Davila with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
Related: Rain cools Phoenix area overnight, more showers to come
Currently, about 1,500 people are working the Backbone, Pinnacle, Rafael and Telegraph Fires in the state, as the fires burn up thousands of acres of land, and threaten a number of communities.
Related Stories
- What to know about the Backbone Fire: evacuations ordered, highways closed
- Pinnacle Fire grows to 34,000 acres; some Graham County communities told to evacuate
- What to know about the Rafael Fire: Evacuations ordered, road closures underway
- What to know about the Telegraph Fire: Evacuations ordered, highways reopen
Another fire of concern is the Wyrick Fire. The fire has burned over 7,000 acres of land, and it is currently threatening the community of Heber-Overgaard. Just under 100 people are working on the fire currently.
Related Story: What to know about the Wyrick Fire near Heber: Evacuations ordered, highways reopen
"What we’re doing right now is once our larger scale fires are starting to become closer to full containment, they are able to demobilize those resources and put them somewhere else where the resource need is," said Davila.
Davila said wildfire relief brought by wet weather will only be temporary.
"It is helping to some degree. Is it the end all be all? No. The fires will continue to burn. It is definitely helping, but once the cloud coverage moves out of the area, the temperatures heat up again, we will see more fire activity," said Davila.
Davila also said rain brings other concerns.
"While we want as much of the monsoon and rainfall as we can get, we have to be very careful in those areas like the Telegraph area, where the Bush Fire and Big Horn Fire burned last year because those areas are going to be susceptible to flooding," said Davila.
Extended Wildfire Coverage: https://www.fox10phoenix.com/tag/weather/wildfires
Other Wildfire Stories
- Map: Every wildfire burning in Arizona
- Apache-Sitgreaves, Coconino, Kaibab, Tonto, Prescott National Forests to close due to wildfire activity
- Residents, tourists react to increasing wildfires in Arizona
Tune in to FOX 10 Phoenix for the latest news
You can check the latest weather conditions by visiting the FOX 10 Phoenix weather page, or download the Free FOX 10 Weather app, which is available on Apple iOS and Android.