Most of Arizona under severe fire restrictions for Memorial Day weekend
May 25, 2018, 4:34 PM
(Pixabay photo)
(Pixabay photo)
PHOENIX — Residents will be barred from starting a campfire in the majority of Arizona over the Memorial Day weekend, as dry weather conditions were expected to worsen wildfire conditions for the holiday.
Tiffany Davila, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, told KTAR News 92.3 FM that the entire state was placed under Stage I or Stage II restrictions and closures as of 8 a.m. Friday.
Stage I restrictions allow campers to build fires within a specific development site, while Stage II restrictions restrict campfires of any kind and bar campers from smoking outside.
Only La Paz and Yuma counties, plus the northwest portion of the state, were under Stage I restrictions.
Yavapai, Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, Santa Cruz, Graham, Greenlee and Cochise counties were under Stage II restrictions.
State land in part of Coconino County and Navajo, Apache and Gila counties were closed to recreationers.
Tim Steffen with the National Weather Service told KTAR News 92.3 FM that increased winds and low humidity will put fire danger in part of Coconino and Yavapai counties and Apache and Navajo counties at critical levels on Saturday.
“We are going to see winds increase in the Southwest today and peak Saturday,” he said, attributing the weather change to a low pressure system that is moving across the state.
But Davila had a word of advice for families planning to travel within the state for the Memorial Day weekend: “Just know before you go.
“If you’re planning to go up somewhere for Memorial Day weekend, please check the fire restrictions website. We don’t want you to get to where you’re going and have to turn around, but on the other side of things, we don’t want to start a huge wildfire. This is all about public and firefighter safety.”
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Paul Ihander and Jim Cross contributed to this report.
