An early monsoon brought an end to the high country wildfire season. It may have also extended opportunities to improve forest health.

Arizona’s wildfires have become hotter and bigger in recent years, in part because there is a lot of fuel in the forest. One answer to that problem is to thin the trees mechanically.

But fire restrictions can make thinning projects more time consuming, or even stop them in their tracks. Elvy Barton of with Salt River Project, which works with state and federal agencies on fuels reduction, said the state should benefit from the early monsoon storms.

“You know with this increased precipitation it does allow us to continue those operations during the summer," Barton said, "which is really important because those operations are there to thin the forest and to really reduce wildfire risk.”

She says foresters recently made progress on a thinning project near Payson.