Wildfires are nothing new in Arizona, but this year seemed exceptionally mild.
Measures that might have appeared extreme at the time they were implemented proved effective.
Fire restrictions and forest closures were at least two methods employed by the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management to control wildfires in 2018.
"We did all of that very early on. We feel like providing those fire restrictions and forest closures helped prevent a lot of those wildfires in our very at risk areas," said Tiffany Davila, who is with the agency.
Davila said some of those closures went into effect ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. But it worked, she said.
As of Dec. 19, 161,000 acres of land was burned as compared to about 420,000 acres last year.
Davila said her agency is looking at employing those same strategies. They’re also looking to increase their marketing efforts.
