Officials fear Arizona wildfire conditions among most dangerous in years

PHOENIX — Conditions are ripe for a bad wildfire season in Arizona after El Nino failed to bring an expected increase in precipitation to the state, officials said Wednesday.

Arizona State Forester Jeff Whitney said this year’s conditions are comparable to those seen in 2002 and 2011, when Arizona experienced its two largest wildfires on record.

“We look for patterns and many of us have been around for a while,” he said during a press conference with Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey. “We’ve seen these springtime conditions in the setup and as I look at the maps, I’m concerned.”

Arizona Wildfire Outlook. That's not a good outlook for the upcoming months. pic.twitter.com/71bilpaBfV

— Jim Cross (@Crossfire923) April 13, 2016

Whitney said a majority of the state outside the Phoenix area is at some risk of wildfire and urged people to use caution with anything that could spark a blaze.

“Whether you’re down in the Sierra Vista area in southern Arizona in the grasslands, the Payson and Prescott areas, the communities of Flagstaff, Williams among others — every community has their own particular challenges,” he said.

Thus far, 21,000 acres of land in Arizona have burned, a large jump from the 450 acres burned this time last year.

Arizona’s 2014 wildfire season was rather tame. The state typically sees 300,000 acres burned in an average year. Last year, that number was 158,000.

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