Forest officials are expecting a difficult fire season - a perfect storm of dry brush, near-record visitor numbers, and the yet-unknown impacts of COVID-19 on firefighting operations.

The Bureau of Land Management says this year’s fire season could be exacerbated by a wet winter and warm, dry spring, filling the state’s wildlands with a lot of dry grass and brush. 

And, with so many other things shut down, national forests have seen almost twice as many visitors as last year. 

On top of that, the unknowns of the COVID-19 pandemic add a layer of unpredictability that BLM spokeswoman Dolores Garcia says impacts wildland firefighters.

“Firefighters on the ground are trying to maintain some social distancing as much as possible," Garcia said. "But we’re trying to monitor our firefighters on a daily basis so they can go out and respond safely.”

There were already two serious brush fires near Apache Junction Thursday, one of which led to evacuations.

“It’s going to be very critical that people are wary about how to prevent fires and how to prepare in and around their homes and communities for fires," Garcia said. "Many of the fires we’ve been seeing are very preventable, human-caused. A lot of the fires are along roadways, which means people are still dragging chains or there’s metal dragging from vehicles.”

The Forest Service has banned all campfires and open flames in all national forests statewide until at least June 30.