2020 Arizona wildfires

The 2020 Arizona wildfire season is the series of wildfires across the state of Arizona that occur year-round but are most numerous and typically burn the largest swaths of land during spring and summer. Peak fire season in the Southwest typically runs from May, when conditions are windy, hot, and dry, through mid-July, when the North American Monsoon provides the region with precipitation to slow fire activity.[1]

2020 Arizona wildfires
Map of fires during the 2020 Arizona wildfire season
Statistics
Cost	unknown
Deaths	1 indirect
Non-fatal injuries	0
Season
← 2019 2021 →

As of June 15, 2020, at least thirteen fires larger than 1,000 acres (400 ha) have burned within the state. However, the most notable fire of the season, the Ocotillo Fire, burned only 980 acres (400 ha) over four days and threatened the town of Cave Creek. It destroyed 20 buildings, including 8 homes.[2]

Early outlook

In April, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management expected a "potentially active" fire season reminiscent of the 2019 season. Increased grass load from a wet winter is expected to contribute to an elevated risk of fire in the Central Arizona deserts.[3] Southwest Coordination Center Predictive Services forecasted an Above Normal risk for significant wildland fires from May through July for most of Arizona (excepting the Colorado Plateau), with fire potential returning to Normal by August with the arrival of a climatologically average monsoon. They cited above normal fine fuel loading in southern Arizona deserts and an active weather pattern through mid-June to support this risk.[4]

Wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), or produced significant structural damage or casualties.

Name	County	Acres	Start date	Containment date	Notes	Ref
Basin	Mohave	38,804	May 10	May 21	Lightning-caused	[5][6]
East Desert	Maricopa	1,492	May 17	May 22	Human-caused	[7]
Jackrabbit	Maricopa	2,034	May 25	May 26		[8]
Range	Pinal	3,286	May 29	June 1	Cause unknown	[9]
Ocotillo	Maricopa	980	May 30	June 2	Human-caused; 20 buildings destroyed in Cave Creek	[2]
Sawtooth	Pinal	24,729	May 30	June 19	Lightning-caused	[10]
Sunset	Yavapai	4,000	May 31	June 1	Forced closure of I-17 both directions on May 31; cause unknown	[11]
Tortolita	Pinal	3,140	June 5	June 11	Lightning-caused	[12]
Bighorn	Pima	119,987	June 5	July 23	Lightning-caused; around 80 homes in Catalina were forced to evacuate on June 12 Summerhaven and surrounding areas on Mt. Lemmon were given evacuation notice on June 16. The Willow Canyon region of Mt. Lemmon and some parts of Oracle were told to evacuate on June 18 Further evacuations were announced for the eastern slopes of the Santa Catalinas on June 26	[13][14]
Blue River	Gila	30,408	June 5	June 25	Lightning-caused	[15]
Emigrant	Cochise	4,756	June 6	June 14		[16]
Dry Lake	Graham	4,369	June 6	June 24	Lightning-caused	[17][18]
Bringham	Greenlee	23,142	June 6	July 29	36-mile closure of US 191; lightning-caused	[19]
Mangum	Coconino	71,450	June 8	July 27	Closure of US 89A and SR 67, making the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park inaccessible Evacuations were issued for areas along House Rock Road east of Jacob Lake on June 17	[20]
Bush	Maricopa	193,455	June 13	July 6	Human-caused; Evacuations issued for: Tonto Basin, Punkin Center (June 14), Sunflower, Apache Lake (June 16) Brownsville, Jake's Corner, Slate Creek, and Pioneer Pass (June 18) Gila County evacuation orders were lifted on June 20	[21]
Central	Maricopa	4,499	June 20	June 30	Human-caused	[22][23]
Aquila	Maricopa	893	June 23	June 26	6 structures destroyed; human-caused	[24][25]
Painted Wagon	Maricopa	490	June 25	June 27	5 structures destroyed; human-caused	[24][26]
Wood Springs 2	Apache	12,861	June 27	July 11	Lightning-caused. 7 structures destroyed in Navajo Nation	[27][18]
Boulders	Pinal	1,011	June 30	July 4		[28]
Polles	Gila	628	July 3	July 23	A helicopter supporting firefighting efforts crashed on July 7, taking the life of pilot Bryan Boatman. The incident is under investigation. Lightning-caused.	[29][30]
Monument	Coconino	1,785	July 5	10% contained as of July 13		[31]
Buren	Maricopa	2,800	July 11	July 14	Human-caused	[31][18]
Navarro	Pima	2,306	July 11	July 14	Lightning-caused	[32][31]
Jackson	Graham	2,946	July 11	July 22	Lightning-caused	[33]
Blue River 2	Gila	28,051	July 13	67% contained as of July 20	Lightning-caused	[34]
Valley	Graham	29,639	July 13	July 18		[35]
Pine	Yavapai	2,184	July 14	90% contained as of August 10	Lightning-caused	[36]
Thumb	Coconino	8,354	July 16	July 26	Lightning-caused	[37]
Pine Hollow	Coconino	11,405	July 29	August 6	Lightning-caused	[38]
Cassadore Springs	Gila	20,337	August 1	26% contained as of August 10	Lightning-caused. Kean Fire merged into the Cassadore Springs Fire on August 3.	[39]
Bumble Bee	Yavapai	2,993	August 7	84% contained as of August 10	Human-caused	[40]

See also

• List of Arizona wildfires
• 2020 California wildfires

References

1. "Fire Behavior Field Reference Guide, PMS 437 - Fire Season Climatology". nwcg.gov. National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
2. "Ocotillo Fire destroys iconic Cave Creek business, 8 homes". AZ Family. June 2, 2020.
3. "2020 Arizona Wildfire Outlook". dffm.az.gov. Department of Forestry and Fire Management. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
4. "2020 Fire Season Considerations and Outlook". Southwest Coordination Center. May 5, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
5. "Basin Fire burns 36,000 acres in northwest Arizona". Wildfire Today. May 11, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
6. "Basin Fire Information". InciWeb. May 21, 2020. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020.
7. "East Desert Fire Information". InciWeb. May 25, 2020. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020.
8. Wegner, Helena (May 26, 2020). "Jackrabbit Fire near Wickenburg grows to more than 2,000 acres". The Arizona Republic.
9. "Range Fire Information". InciWeb. June 1, 2020. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020.
10. "Sawtooth Fire Information". InciWeb. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
11. "Sunset Fire closes Interstate 17 north of Phoenix". Wildfire Today. May 31, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
12. "AZ Dept. of Forestry & Fire Management: Tortolita Fire 100% contained". KVOA - News 4 Tucson. June 11, 2020.
13. "Bighorn Information". InciWeb. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
14. "Arizona Wildfire Closes North Rim of Grand Canyon; In Southern Arizona, Bighorn Wildfire Continues To Grow". The Weather Channel. June 12, 2020.
15. "Blue River Fire Information". InciWeb. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
16. "Open Incidents - WildCAD AZ-Tucson Interagency Dispatch Center". WildWeb. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020.
17. "Dry Lake Fire Information". InciWeb. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
18. https://gacc.nifc.gov/sacc/predictive/intelligence/NationalLargeIncidentYTDReport.pdf
19. "Bringham Fire Information". InciWeb. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
20. "Mangum Fire Information". InciWeb. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
21. "Bush Fire Information". InciWeb. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
22. "Central Fire burning near New River grows to 1,500 acres". AZ Family. June 20, 2020.
23. "Central Fire Information". InciWeb. June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
24. "Open Incidents - WildCAD Arizona Dispatch Center". WildWeb. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020.
25. "Aquila Fire Information". InciWeb. June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
26. "Painted Wagon Fire near Wittmann burns 550 acres, destroys 5 structures". AZ Family. June 25, 2020.
27. "Wood Springs 2 Fire Information". InciWeb. June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
28. "Open Incidents - WildCAD Arizona Dispatch Center". WildWeb. Archived from the original on July 8, 2020.
29. "Polles Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". InciWeb. July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
30. "Open Incidents - WildCAD Phoenix Dispatch Center". WildWeb. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020.
31. "Open Incidents - WildCAD Arizona Dispatch Center". WildWeb. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020.
32. "Navarro Fire Information". InciWeb. July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
33. "Jackson Fire Information". InciWeb. July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
34. "Blue River 2 Information". InciWeb. July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
35. "Blue River 2 & Valley Fires Update for July 18, 2020 - Ko' Ba Nagoni i'". InciWeb. July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
36. "Open Incidents - WildCAD Prescott Dispatch Center". WildWeb. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020.
37. "Thumb Fire Information". InciWeb. July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
38. "Pine Hollow Fire Information". InciWeb. July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
39. "Cassadore Springs Fire Information". InciWeb. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
40. "Bumble Bee Fire Information". InciWeb. August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.

External links

• Arizona Interagency Wildfire Prevention - Wildfire News
• Southwest Coordination Center (SWCC)