By AZFamily Digital News Staff and The Associated Press
Under a strategy now entering its second year, the U.S. Forest Service is trying to prevent out-of-control fires that start on public lands from raging through communities
The Phoenix fire department is now enlisting the help of drones in a new program that they say will not only help save lives but will also help them assess the scene and act quickly.
As Mayor Paul Deasy told Arizona’s Family this morning in an interview, flood hazard models updated since the Pipeline Fire are now showing a high flood risk for some neighborhoods in Flagstaff City limits.
As a whole, both the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests are in Stage Two Fire Restrictions. But each forest also has specific areas that are closed within its boundaries.
On Sunday, authorities arrested 57-year-old Matthew Riser after a forest official said he started the fire and tried to drive off in a white pickup truck along Snowbowl Road.
A wildfire sparked just 6 miles north of Flagstaff near Schultz Pass Road and Mt. Elden Road Sunday morning. As of 8 p.m., the fire has burned 4,500 acres.
Officials have issued voluntary evacuations in several neighborhoods as the fire burns close to homes. The fire broke out Wednesday afternoon in Laguna Hills, California just south of Los Angeles.
After the Tunnel and Crooks fires burned more than 40 square miles of our state, Shaffer says calls from the public came in quickly to close down the Coconino National Forest.
According to a press release from Prescott National Forest, winds pushed the fire south Sunday night, remaining active near Ash Creek. The winds cause “significant growth in this drainage,” according to the release.