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Whenever you plan to head out on to your public lands, it's always wise to call ahead to the Field Office or Ranger Station that oversees your destination to check on local conditions. Point and click at the interactive map above to search all of the state's recreation sites for phone numbers and other details. |
Arizona Fire News
ARIZONA RESTRICTIONS AND CLOSURES
SEEING SMOKE IN ARIZONA? MAYBE IT'S INTENTIONAL
PRESS SECTION -- click here to read official agency Press Releases and/or Restriction and Closure Orders
Latest Fire News
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The Safford Air Operations Center is maintained by the Bureau of Land Management.
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ARIZONA RESTRICTIONS AND CLOSURES
Late August/Early September, 2010
After a LOT of very hot, dry days early in July, the usual "monsoons" did finally arrive and diminish wildfire danger state-wide. Now cooler weather is showing up and hinting at a spectacular fall outdoor season.
Still, last winter was wetter than usual, thus promoting lots of grass growth which dried out in this summer's months of hot and windy weather - making perfect fuels for lightning or human-caused fires. PLEASE read the notices below and in the Press Section, linked above, carefully before you take off for camping or other outdoor activities.
Opportunities for outdoor fun on public lands abound year round, even during the and summer "fire season." While scattered wildfires may temporarily affect travel while being managed or suppressed by fire crews, there is always some place where you can camp, hike, fish, visit historic sites or take a leisurely drive to enjoy the scenery.
Land management agencies, tribal governments, counties and cities pay particularly close attention to fire prevention and preparedness every year - regardless of moisture - to ensure that your outdoor experiences will be pleasant and safe.
YOUR bottom line? Always plan outdoor excursions wisely; call local authorities to check on any last-minute changes in conditions before you leave. Point and click at the interactive map of Arizona above to search all of the state's recreation sites for phone numbers and other details.
BE CAREFUL with fire year round. And remember ALL FIREWORKS (EVEN SPARKLERS) ARE ILLEGAL IN ARIZONA!!
WHAT`S OPEN:
Most EVERYTHING!! except for the few areas listed below.
WHAT`S RESTRICTED:
Different land managing agencies establish their fire restrictions for their lands in different ways. Some use national forest or ranger district boundaries, county lines or other administrative areas.
MANY OF THE RESTRICTIONS BELOW WERE POSTED WITHOUT EXPIRATION DATES - CHECK WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO SEE IF YOU CAN NOW SPARK UP A CAMPFIRE.
Use the maps found throughout this website to clarify where you might be restricted from using fires. Start here to find county or national forest boundaries.
NATIONAL FORESTS
TONTO, COCONINO, KAIBAB and PRECOTT NATIONAL FORESTS all have lifted their fire restrictions.
BLM LANDS
Phoenix District BLM lands and those in Pinal county managed by the Gila District had their previous fire restrictions lifted on July 31st. BLM Lands managed by the Colorado River District (S. Mohave, La Paz and Yuma counties) will remain in fire restrictions until they receive more widespread moisture. See the PRESS SECTION for details.
Here is a map showing BLM Field Office boundaries.
NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES
OPEN FIRES of any type are PROHIBITED on these refuges year round.
NATIONAL PARKS
NONE OF THE NATIONAL PARKS AND MONUMENTS IN ARIZONA ARE CURRENTLY OBSERVING ANY SEASONAL FIRE RESTRICTIONS.
However, National Parks and Monuments maintain differing restrictions on cooking and campfires year round - use the interactive map above to locate individual sites and check the NOTES at the bottom of a site's page for local restrictions.
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS (BIA)
Hopi Tribal lands remain under restrictions year round and other reservations observe seasonal restrictions.
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is under fire restrictions effective May 26th, 2010.
Quechan Tribal lands have fire restrictions for campfires, check locally for compliance requirements.
The Colorado River Indian Tribes have closures of designated areas, check locally for compliance requirements.
San Carlos Indian Reservation has posted level one fire restrictions.
To contact individual tribes about local conditions, use the following numbers: Tohono O'odham (520-383-8276), San Carlos Apache (928-475-2326), Salt River Pima (480-850-8244), Navajo Nation (928-729-4007), Hopi (928-734-2106), Gila River Community (520-796-5900), Fort Apache (928-338-5326).
Please remember, tribal lands are NOT public lands; please observe all tribal restrictions on access, photography, etc.
STATE PARKS, STATE TRUST LANDS and STATE WILDLIFE AREAS
STATE TRUST LANDS fire restrictions expire July 31st.
Remember, any non-hunting, out-of-season recreation on State Trust Lands requires a permit from the Arizona State Land Department.
ARIZONA'S GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT has set restrictions for the following areas:
• Alamo Lake Wildlife Area;
• Aravaipa Wildlife Area;
• Arlington Wildlife Area;
• Base and Meridian Wildlife Area;
• Colorado River Nature Center Wildlife Area;
• Mittry Lake Wildlife Area;
• Powers Butte Wildlife Area;
• Quigley Wildlife Area;
• Robbins Butte Wildlife Area;
• Three Bar Wildlife Area;
• Upper Verde Wildlife Area
MUNICIPAL PARKS
MARICOPA COUNTY will impose fire restrictions June 1st on the following parks: Lake Pleasant Regional Park, White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Adobe Dam Regional Park, Buckeye Hills Regional Park, Estrella Mountain Regional Park (excludes turf area), San Tan Mountain Regional Park, Usery Mountain Regional Park, McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Cave Creek Regional Park, and Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area.
Smoking in the parks is still permissible, but all park users are strongly encouraged to be responsible in their use and ensure that all cigarettes are properly extinguished and placed in trash receptacles.
WHAT`S CLOSED:
Local conditions sometimes require land managers to close access or use of areas within their jurisdiction. MANY OF THE CLOSURES BELOW WERE POSTED WITHOUT EXPIRATION DATES - CHECK WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO SEE IF THEY ARE STILL IN PLACE. In fact, ALWAYS check with local offices before venturing out on to Arizona's public lands.
As of July 16th the Turkey fire on Tonto National Forest has caused several roads to be closed in order to ensure public and firefighter safety. The closure begins at the intersection of State Highway 288 and FS Road 609 and follows this course:
FS Road 609 is closed west from State Highway 288 to FS Road 486.
FS Road 486 is closed south from FS Road 609 to FS Road 2747.
FS Road 2747 is closed east from FS Road 486 along the bottom of the Turkey Creek drainage and continuing on FS Road 2752.
State Highway 288 will remain open.
Due to fire active in the ALPINE RANGER DISTRICT of Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, visitors who plan to access the Wildcat Crossing area of the Black River should be aware that Forest Road 25 will be closed north of Wildcat Crossing on the south end and at the intersection of Forest Road 25 and 25G on the north end. This area closure, enforced by two road blocks, is being initiated for public safety because winds have been carrying embers from the main fire significant distances and observed fire behavior has included spotting ahead of the main fire. Visitors may still access the Big Lake area. The Grant Creek Trail (No. 75) and Paradise Trail (No. 74) are also closed to the public due to fire activity in the area.
Due to fire active near Flagstaff as of June 28, an emergency fire closure was issued restricting travel on lands, roads and trails within the vicinity of the San Francisco Peaks. Revised fire closure information can be found at the Coconino National Forest website - click here. Recreationists are reminded to stay out of the closure area; this closure is being strictly enforced.
Also June 23, the Paradise fire near Alpine has caused an Area Closure described as follows. East side of closure boundary: From Horse Ridge Trailhead south on Horse Ridge Trail #38 to the junction of Foote Creek Trail #76. The closure continues on Foote Creek Trail to Blue Admin Trailhead. South side of the closure boundary: From the Blue Admin Trailhead the closure will follow Greenlee County Road 67004 (the Blue Road) to Steeple Trailhead. The Blue Road will not be included in the closure. From Steeple Trailhead the closure will follow Steeple Trail #73 to the junction of KP Trail #70. From the junction it will follow the KP Trail to the junction of the KP Trail and the North KP Trail #93. West and north side of the closure boundary: From KP Rim Trailhead North along Aker Lake Trail #17 to US Highway 191. Closure follows US Highway 191 north and northwest to Horse Ridge Trail.
KAIBAB NATIONAL FOREST resource management specialists have closed an area affected by the Eagle Rock Fire, 11 miles northeast of Williams until further notice. The northern boundary of the closure is Forest Road 97, east to Forest Road 141, south to the junction of Forest Road 76, and continuing south to Forest Road 104. Then, the fire dozer line will be closed to the junction of Forest Road 522 continuing north to the junction of Forest Road 97.
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SEEING SMOKE IN ARIZONA? MAYBE IT'S INTENTIONAL
There are two kinds of fires out on public lands that might cause some smoke:
One is your well-tended and thoroughly-OUT-when-you-leave-it CAMP FIRE and the other is a WILDLAND FIRE - that's any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland.
There are also two types of wildland fires. They are wildfires and prescribed fires.
Wildfires are unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires. Some wildfires that occur naturally, by lightning, can be managed to achieve resource management objectives.
Prescribed fires are planned ignitions. They are ignited by agency personnel to meet specific objectives in order to prevent or reduce the intensity of any future wildfire.
Many agencies and tribes practice prescribed burning to eliminate excess fuels and reduce fire danger. Weather and environmental conditions play a key role in the timing and accomplishment of these projects. People in these areas will see and smell smoke for the duration of the burn; smoke inversions may occur during nighttime hours. As always, firefighter and public safety are the top priority.
Sometimes, naturally caused wildfires are allowed to burn for the same reasons. The objective of any such "managed" fire is to protect, maintain and enhance resources, and, as nearly as possible, allow fire to function in its natural ecological role within defined boundaries.
Before a fire is put into such status, land managers evaluate several criteria. For example, archaeologists and wildlife biologists inspect the area to ensure wildlife habitats and archaeological sites will not be harmed as a result of the fire or management practices. Before a fire can be actively managed, its boundaries and the weather and fuels conditions under which the fire will be allowed to burn are carefully established.
In both cases, agency fire managers follow strict guidelines, monitoring burn conditions and the generation of smoke.
For an example of a News Release about a prescribed burning project, click here.
If you are concerned about how wildfire smoke can affect your health, go to this website.
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Prescribed burns like this one help reduce fire danger, and so do following posted restrictions! Keep our public lands open this summer!
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LATEST FIRE NEWS
Week of September 14, 2009
Because of many showers in May and June plus the ON parts of New Mexico's ON and OFF "Monsoon Season" in July and August, what is usually called "Fire Season" was relatively mild in 2009. We did have some hot, dry weather and lots of windy "Red Flag" days during the spring and many of the current rainstorms have carried enough lightning to spark up some actual wildfires; all summer long many were carefully monitored while being allowed to burn and reduce dangerous fuel buildups. Summer camping season is pretty much over, but fall hunters are out and about on public lands and the number of campfires that might get away remains a constant concern.
Of course opportunities for outdoor fun on public lands abound year round, even during the spring and summer "fire season." While small fires may temporarily affect travel while being suppressed or managed by fire crews, there is always some place where you can camp, hike, fish, visit historic sites or take a leisurely drive to enjoy the scenery.
Land management agencies, tribal governments, counties and cities pay particularly close attention to fire prevention and preparedness every year - regardless of moisture - to ensure that your outdoor experiences will be pleasant and safe. Often, controlled burning activities are also planned for the spring and fall - see the PRESS SECTION for details.
YOUR bottom line? Always plan outdoor excursions wisely, call local authorities to check on any last-minute changes in conditions before you leave and BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! Remember, FIREWORKS are ALWAYS illegal on public lands!!
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