Wildfires
Salt River Project, which has a number of transmission lines on national forest land, has launched a pilot program to mount cameras on transmission lines to scout for wildfires.
May. 9, 2023
Coconino County has aggressively been thinning its forests to try to reduce the amount of overgrowth that leads to violent fires like those last year that burned more than 30 homes and 80 square miles. But current thinning practices don’t create desirable logs with any real use. So it’s trying out different technologies to eliminate a growing problem ahead of any new fires.
May. 9, 2023
Arizona’s forest managers excluded wildfire from the landscape for more than a century, but in recent years they have learned that small blazes can help thin the forest floor. That means fire could come to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon this week.
May. 8, 2023
Fire season is already under way, with a few minor blazes reported in the state so far this year, and investigators are looking for a person in one of them. The Molino 2 Fire broke out in Coronado National Forest and briefly shut down the Catalina Highway near Tucson.
May. 3, 2023
The U.S. Forest Service has expanded a camping and campfire ban around Flagstaff to reduce the risk of human-caused fires in northern Arizona.
May. 2, 2023
Prescribed burn operations have begun in Tonto National Forest, in southern Arizona near Sonoita, and in Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff.
Apr. 25, 2023
The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management will begin ignitions for a controlled burn about 50 miles south of Tucson.
Apr. 24, 2023
The Department of Agriculture has awarded $32 million to the San Carlos Apache Tribal Forest Protection Landscape Project for wildfire mitigation.
Apr. 17, 2023
The annual fire ban at Maricopa County's regional parks will go into effect May 1 this year. It prohibits campfires, fire pits and charcoal grills.
Apr. 17, 2023
Crews with the Tonto National Forest and San Carlos Apache Tribe are conducting a prescribed burn operation about 100 miles east of Phoenix near the Timber Camp Recreation Area and Group Campgrounds close to Globe.
Apr. 15, 2023
Wildfire season is expected to ramp up in certain parts of Arizona as temperatures rise. Southern Arizona seems to be the most at risk. Tiffany Davila, with the state Department of Forestry and Fire Management, says the wet winter did not help as much as one may think.
Apr. 6, 2023
Tuzigoot National Monument in the Verde Valley area has closed to the public after a fire broke out Sunday.
Apr. 3, 2023
Arizona Public Service provides power to customers throughout the state and works with fire crews during wildfire season.
Mar. 29, 2023
The mountains are covered in a blanket of green and the wildflower season is expected to be a superbloom. But all of that green could make for an even more dangerous wildfire season. As those grasses and flowers dry out and become fuel.
Mar. 28, 2023
As the state looks back on one of the wettest winters on record, officials reminded Arizonans that wildfire season is right around the corner.
Mar. 27, 2023
Flooding in Coconino County has happened after major wildfires and after melting rains fall on massive snow buildups. This time, the concern is from both.
Mar. 26, 2023
The U.S. department of Agriculture has announced federal funding is available for Arizona residents whose homes were damaged by wildfires in 2022.
Mar. 26, 2023
The bipartisan infrastructure law set aside money to help offset the effects of wildfires throughout the West. The Biden administration has announced that one Arizona county will receive some of that funding.
Mar. 20, 2023
Hotter and drier conditions caused by climate change are helping lead to more severe wildfires across the West. Those more severe wildfires are hurting the forests’ ability to regrow after the fires are out.
Mar. 16, 2023
The safety and security of the U.S.'s energy grid have been front and center recently, as power stations have become targets of sabotage, leaving customers without power — and utilities face other challenges as well. Katherine Blunt covers renewable energy and utilities for the Wall Street Journal.
Mar. 15, 2023