PHOENIX — With triple-digit temperatures returning to Arizona this week, forest officials are mounting defenses to limit the growth of several small wildfires.
A high-pressure system moving into the Southwest is expected to bring sweltering temperatures likely to peak above 110 degrees Friday and Saturday in southern parts of the state, according to the National Weather Service.
The hot, arid weather will also affect the high country by drying out pine needles, grasses and logs on the forest floor, thus making more fuel for fires burning in the Coconino and Tonto national forests.
U.S. Forest Service officials say they have the fires under control and are anticipating the weather.
The state’s four largest wildfires that are still burning were all started by lightning. The largest is the Juniper Fire, which has scorched more than 6,600 acres in Tonto National Forest near Young.
Three more fires are burning in Coconino National Forest. Each has burned fewer than 3,000 acres, and they are relatively small compared with some of the state’s largest fires such as the Wallow Fire, which burned nearly 550,000 acres in 2011.
Fire managers decided it’s better to allow the fires to burn to help thin the forest, said Carrie Templin, spokeswoman for the Tonto National Forest.
This year’s wet weather in Arizona’s high country has helped minimize the growth of the fires and helped fire officials control the burns to remove vegetation and reduce the risk of a more severe fire.
“There are a lot of areas in the state of Arizona that need to be restored to a more natural condition, whether that is by mechanical thinning or fires,” Templin said.
Still, officials are urging campers to take care in putting out campfires. Campers need to douse fires in water and dirt, then stir until they are cool to the touch, Templin said.
