This Wednesday, the Department of Forestry announced even more state forests will be closed to prevent wildfires.

They say all state-owned and managed lands in Coconino and Gila counties will be gated. This comes after an earlier announcement that large sections of the Tonto National Forest, Arizona’s largest, will be closed indefinitely due to extreme fire risk.

As Memorial Day marks the unofficial start to summer, how will this affect people who plan to visit the state’s parks?

Tiffany Davila, public affairs officer for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, talked about the decision to close state forests.