The entire Tonto National Forest began emergency fire restrictions on Thursday.
The fire restrictions include bans on campfires, barbecues, fireworks and recreational shooting. Forest officials say they’re concerned over growing fire dangers, like this week’s human-caused Slate Fire, which shut down a highway.
Tonto National Forest's fire staff officer Andrew Mandell says that fire was just one consideration leading to the restrictions ,and they include decisions on "how many human caused fires we’re getting. What our fuel moistures are, current fire workload, observed fire behavior, our ability to quickly control those fires that we are getting."
The Tonto entered less restrictive fire conditions around this same time the last two years.
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