2020 Arizona wildfires

The 2020 Arizona wildfire season is a series of wildfires that burned across the state of Arizona. The season is a part of the 2020 Western United States wildfire season. Wildfires occur year-round in the state 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
Costunknown
Deaths1 indirect
Non-fatal injuries0
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] A fire department helicopter crashed while bringing supplies to firefighters, killing the pilot.[5]

List of 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
BasinMohave38,804May 10May 21Lightning-caused[6][7]
East DesertMaricopa1,492May 17May 22Human-caused[8]
JackrabbitMaricopa2,034May 25May 26[9]
RangePinal3,286May 29June 1Cause unknown[10]
OcotilloMaricopa980May 30June 2Human-caused; 20 buildings destroyed in Cave Creek[2]
SawtoothPinal24,729May 30June 19Lightning-caused[11]
SunsetYavapai4,000May 31June 1cause unknown; Forced closure of I-17 in both directions on May 31[12]
TortolitaPinal3,140June 5June 11Lightning-caused[13]
BighornPima119,987June 5July 23Lightning-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		[14][15]
Blue RiverGila30,408June 5June 25Lightning-caused[16]
EmigrantCochise4,756June 6June 14[17]
Dry LakeGraham4,369June 6June 24Lightning-caused[18][19]
BringhamGreenlee23,142June 6July 29Lightning-caused; 36-mile closure of US 191[20]
MangumCoconino71,450June 8July 27Closure 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		[21]
BushMaricopa193,455June 13July 6Human-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		[22]
CentralMaricopa4,499June 20June 30Human-caused[23][24]
AquilaMaricopa893June 23June 26Human-caused; 6 structures destroyed[25][26]
Painted WagonMaricopa490June 25June 27human-caused; 5 structures destroyed[25][27]
Wood Springs 2Apache12,861June 27July 11Lightning-caused; 7 structures destroyed in Navajo Nation[28][19]
BouldersPinal1,011June 30July 4[29]
PollesGila628July 3July 23Lightning-caused; A helicopter supporting firefighting efforts crashed on July 7, taking the life of pilot Bryan Boatman.
The incident is under investigation.		[30][31]
MonumentCoconino1,785July 510% contained as of July 13[32]
BurenMaricopa2,800July 11July 14Human-caused[32][19]
NavarroPima2,306July 11July 14Lightning-caused[33][32]
JacksonGraham2,946July 11July 22Lightning-caused[34]
Blue River 2Gila28,051July 1367% contained as of July 20Lightning-caused[35]
ValleyGraham29,639July 13July 18[36]
PineYavapai2,184July 1490% contained as of August 10Lightning-caused[37]
ThumbCoconino8,354July 16July 26Lightning-caused[38]
Pine HollowCoconino11,405July 29August 6Lightning-caused[39]
Cassadore SpringsGila21,284August 190% contained as of August 13Lightning-caused; Kean Fire merged into the Cassadore Springs Fire on August 3[40]
Bumble BeeYavapai2,993August 793% contained as of August 14Human-caused[41]
KlausCochise4,864August 10August 24Lightning-caused[42] [43]
RidgeMohave3,079August 16September 2Lightning-caused[44]
GriffinGila61,821August 17September 6Lightning-caused[45] [46]
SaltGila21,670August 17September 6Lightning-caused[47] [46]
RollsMaricopa1,350August 18August 24Lightning-caused[48]
LoferApache1,275August 1865% contained as of September 10Lightning-caused[49]
ConstellationYavapai12,252August 20August 28Lightning-caused[50]
SuperstitionPinal9,539August 20September 24Lightning-caused[51]
RockhouseGila19,506August 2137% contained September 4Lightning-caused[52]
MedicineGila8,930August 2296% contained as of September 4Lightning-caused[53]
BozarthYavapai5,000August 24September 15Lightning-caused[54]
MeddlerGila4,452August 24August 30Lightning-caused[55] [46]
HiddenGila6,100August 2574% contained as of September 7Lightning-caused[56]
JuniperGraham2,867August 27September 1Cause unknown[57]
BoltMaricopa1,420August 28September 4Cause unknown[58] [46]

See also

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. "Helicopter crashes while working on the Polles Fire in Arizona". Wildfire Today. July 7, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  6. "Basin Fire burns 36,000 acres in northwest Arizona". Wildfire Today. May 11, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  7. "Basin Fire Information". InciWeb. May 21, 2020. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020.
  8. "East Desert Fire Information". InciWeb. May 25, 2020. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020.
  9. Wegner, Helena (May 26, 2020). "Jackrabbit Fire near Wickenburg grows to more than 2,000 acres". The Arizona Republic.
  10. "Range Fire Information". InciWeb. June 1, 2020. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020.
  11. "Sawtooth Fire Information". InciWeb. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  12. "Sunset Fire closes Interstate 17 north of Phoenix". Wildfire Today. May 31, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  13. "AZ Dept. of Forestry & Fire Management: Tortolita Fire 100% contained". KVOA - News 4 Tucson. June 11, 2020.
  14. "Bighorn Information". InciWeb. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  15. "Arizona Wildfire Closes North Rim of Grand Canyon; In Southern Arizona, Bighorn Wildfire Continues To Grow". The Weather Channel. June 12, 2020.
  16. "Blue River Fire Information". InciWeb. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  17. "Open Incidents - WildCAD AZ-Tucson Interagency Dispatch Center". WildWeb. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020.
  18. "Dry Lake Fire Information". InciWeb. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  19. https://gacc.nifc.gov/sacc/predictive/intelligence/NationalLargeIncidentYTDReport.pdf
  20. "Bringham Fire Information". InciWeb. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  21. "Mangum Fire Information". InciWeb. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  22. "Bush Fire Information". InciWeb. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  23. "Central Fire burning near New River grows to 1,500 acres". AZ Family. June 20, 2020.
  24. "Central Fire Information". InciWeb. June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  25. "Open Incidents - WildCAD Arizona Dispatch Center". WildWeb. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020.
  26. "Aquila Fire Information". InciWeb. June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  27. "Painted Wagon Fire near Wittmann burns 550 acres, destroys 5 structures". AZ Family. June 25, 2020.
  28. "Wood Springs 2 Fire Information". InciWeb. June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  29. "Open Incidents - WildCAD Arizona Dispatch Center". WildWeb. Archived from the original on July 8, 2020.
  30. "Polles Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". InciWeb. July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  31. "Open Incidents - WildCAD Phoenix Dispatch Center". WildWeb. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020.
  32. "Open Incidents - WildCAD Arizona Dispatch Center". WildWeb. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020.
  33. "Navarro Fire Information". InciWeb. July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  34. "Jackson Fire Information". InciWeb. July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  35. "Blue River 2 Information". InciWeb. July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  36. "Blue River 2 & Valley Fires Update for July 18, 2020 - Ko' Ba Nagoni i'". InciWeb. July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  37. "Open Incidents - WildCAD Prescott Dispatch Center". WildWeb. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020.
  38. "Thumb Fire Information". InciWeb. July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  39. "Pine Hollow Fire Information". InciWeb. July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  40. "Cassadore Springs Fire Information". InciWeb. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  41. "Bumble Bee Fire Information". InciWeb. August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  42. "Klaus Information". InciWeb. August 10, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  43. "WCAZ-TDC 8/2020". WildWeb. Archived from the original on September 7, 2020.
  44. "Ridge Fire Information". InciWeb. August 16, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  45. "Griffin Fire Information". InciWeb. August 17, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  46. "Open Incidents - WildCAD - Phoenix Interagency Fire Center". WildWeb. Archived from the original on September 7, 2020.
  47. "Salt Fire Information". InciWeb. August 17, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  48. "Rolls Fire Information". InciWeb. August 18, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  49. "Lofer Fire Information". InciWeb. August 28, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  50. "Constellation Fire Information". InciWeb. August 20, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  51. "Superstition Fire Information". InciWeb. August 20, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  52. "Rockhouse Fire Information". InciWeb. August 29, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  53. "Medicine Fire Information". InciWeb. August 22, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  54. "Bozarth Fire Information". InciWeb. August 24, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  55. "Meddler Fire Information". InciWeb. August 24, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  56. "Hidden Fire Information". InciWeb. August 25, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  57. "Juniper Fire Information". InciWeb. August 29, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  58. "Bolt Fire Information". InciWeb. August 29, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
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