By admin TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Pima County is partnering with local fire districts to clear dry vegetation along the Santa Cruz River ahead of wildfire season.
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Wildland firefighters on Tuesday removed brush and invasive species near critical infrastructure like the Ina Road Bridge to reduce fire risk and stop wildfires before they start.
Northwest Fire District Deputy Chief Joshua Zent said they’re on high alert as wildfire season starts to heat up.
“This year in particular we’ve seen some conditions that are changing rapidly so that we have drier fuels, more fuels, and the heat is starting to rise,” Zent said.
Those factors increase the risk of wildfire, especially along critical infrastructure like the Ina bridge. That’s why wildland firefighters are working to remove dry brush and vegetation around it, reducing what Zent calls fuel loads, which can accelerate the spread of wildfires.
“So we have dense fuels along some critical infrastructure, and in the event of a fire, those dense fuels lend to faster fire spread, hotter fires,” Zent said.
The clearings will also serve as fire breaks to prevent the forward movement of wildfires and give firefighters space to defend them.
“We’re creating space between the infrastructure and the fuels, and we want that space to be large enough that in the event of a fire it gives it a stopping point,” Zent said. “Any kind of heat source in an environment like this is a cause of ignition.”
Pima County’s Wildfire Mitigation Plan
The work is part of the Pima County Wildfire Mitigation Plan, which aims to prevent wildfires through outreach and education, mitigation, and emergency response.
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Camille Hall with the Pima County Flood District said the collaborative effort works proactively to fight wildfires and preserve the county’s ecological environments.
“It also allows us to maintain the wash and the rivers for monsoon. With that coming up, that’s top of our minds, making sure our channels are functioning properly, and that we’re not increasing other risks like erosion,” Hall said.
Zent said the multi-agency plan hasn’t been done before but is just the beginning of proactively stopping wildfires in southern Arizona before they start.
“We’re hopeful that we can continue these projects and year after year we can continue to address the fuels, continue to address the access our firefighters rely on, and also preserve the natural habitat that our community enjoys,” Zent said.
Firefighters will clear most of the vegetation around the bridge by the end of this week, before moving their efforts to the Rillito River.
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