The state’s two largest fires, the Sycamore and Pocket fires, are approaching containment. But state officials warn that risks could persist as monsoon activity is beginning to pick up.
Monsoon storms amplify wildfire dangers in two ways.
First, lightning strikes that are not accompanied with rainfall can easily spark vegetation and create small embers that may go undetected by fire personnel.
Tiffany Davila with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management says these are called “holdovers, which are lightning strikes that have held over for a couple of days and then in the next 48 hours you’ll see a column of smoke,” Davila said.
But monsoon moisture doesn’t always help either. In fact, if too much rain falls on a burned area, that can create the risk of a flash flood. This is the case for areas that were extinguished recently, or several years ago, because it can take a while for burned soils to be able to maintain vegetation again.
“Basically that’s ‘moonscape’ landscape, so there’s no vegetation to hold that water back,” Davila said. “There’s nothing but burnt land, burned debris, logs, all of that stuff.”
Just a little bit of rainfall can send that running downhill to homes and communities.
Davila says residents that are near a burn scar can stay prepared by checking to see if they are signed up for emergency flood alerts and by setting up walls of sandbags around their property.
Sandbags can absorb and redirect floodwaters away. These are typically available at fire departments, but they may require personal assembly.
Residents can check their local government’s website to find the nearest sandbag location. The city of Mesa, located near the Sycamore Fire, has a list available at its website.
Emergency flood alerts are available through the National Weather Service and county by county.
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