Arizona has experienced more than 1,200 wildfires since January.
Roughly 173,000 acres have burned so far, and 10 wildfires are currently active around the state. Officials say it’s the worst fire activity that Arizona has seen in recent years.
Tiffany Davila is with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. She says high fire activity was predicted for South/Central Arizona but some fires — like the Freeman, Romero and Circle — have had uncommon behavior.
"You know I can’t speak for the other agencies but what we’re seeing in certain areas and again Pinal County, the southern part of the state is that fire activity is not moderating, it’s not decreasing overnight because we’re still seeing warmer temperatures and low relative humidity levels," Davila said.
Davila says it’s not accurate to say there is a wildfire season in Arizona because conditions exist year-round.
"We could likely see our fire activity extend into late summer and early fall. We do have the potential to see our fire activity stay pretty steady until September, possibly October," she said.
That depends on monsoon activity. There have been multiple fires started this year by dry lightning, with little-to-no precipitation to follow.
