Last week, the Central Arizona Wildland Response Team, consisting of Phoenix area fire departments and other entities, underwent training to respond to structure fires and wildfires.
The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management also take part in the fire training efforts.
“There’s multiple drills that the folks will run through. Over the last couple of days we had water-pumping operations. Engines were out there. They were going and refreshing all of the engine operation. We had sand table exercises, radio communications," said Tiffany Davila, a public affairs officer with the state.
Davila says other training sessions will be held in different parts of the state to ensure crews throughout Arizona are ready after a dry winter.
"There’s special requirements, special certifications so that’s why we have to all work together and make sure we’re on the same page so that we are fighting fire cohesively as one unit," she said.
Davila also says many areas across the state remain untouched by fire over the last couple of years. As a result, the fire officials’ activities will concentrate on these areas.
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With monsoon season starting this week, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management is asking everyone to be more careful with fire, especially on red flag days. -
The threat of the Papa Fire spreading to communities or structures in and around Flagstaff is low, officials said. Crews are maintaining a strong fire line and working to protect nearby energy infrastructure. -
State and federal agencies across Arizona have put fire restrictions in place, as the danger of wildfires increases with hot and dry conditions. -
Wildfire risk is rising across the West after a dry winter and ongoing drought left vegetation more vulnerable to fire. Now, researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno are putting about $3.5 million in federal funding to work on a project aimed at reducing that risk in the eastern Sierra Nevada. -
Storms across the Western U.S. are dumping more rain in shorter bursts than in decades past. But according to new research, that doesn't necessarily mean landscapes are holding onto more water.
