{"id":3767,"date":"2026-07-17T11:05:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T11:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3767"},"modified":"2026-07-17T11:05:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T11:05:51","slug":"arizona-forest-camps-are-raising-wildfire-risks-heres-what-officials-found","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3767","title":{"rendered":"Arizona forest camps are raising wildfire risks. Here\u2019s what officials found"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Illegal camping in Arizona\u2019s national forests is creating environmental damage, increasing wildfire risk and draining resources from local law enforcement.<\/p>\n

Read more Northwestern Arizona man wanted in attempted homicide caught<\/a><\/p>\n

The issue gained recent attention after Mark Aaron Gatz was arrested last month following eight years of living in the Tonto National Forest.<\/p>\n

A hiker photographed Gatz\u2019s campsite in 2024 while hiking south of Strawberry and reported it to the Forest Service.<\/p>\n

Court documents show that Forest Service officers had given Gatz multiple warnings before his arrest. One officer said in court documents that \u201cthere was roughly half an acre of resources ruined due to so much trash and goods on the ground for an extended period of time.\u201d Gatz left behind approximately 1,000 pounds of trash.<\/p>\n

Court documents in Gatz\u2019s case show that he was using a 3-foot-tall fireplace constructed from rocks and clay and had frying pans on site. Stage 2 fire restrictions were in place at the time of his arrest, making an open flame illegal.<\/p>\n

Jon Paxton, public information officer for the Coconino County Sheriff\u2019s Office, said the office also deals with the dangers of illegal camping. He said the accumulated trash can also present additional fire hazards.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the waste starts building up, you\u2019ve got batteries, you\u2019ve got vehicle fluids,\u201d Paxton said.<\/p>\n

Paxton said illegal camping has been an issue for federal, state and local law enforcement for years, but worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Read more Cause of death pending for Phoenix toddler found in car<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had task forces for years going back for quite a ways where we go out and do trash details,\u201d he said. \u201cWe go out to enforce that and cite that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paxton noted that people are permitted to live in national forests, but the law requires them to relocate to a different area after 14 days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are people living out on the forest,\u201d he said. \u201cSome out of want and some out of necessity. There\u2019s just rules that have to be followed by everybody, whether they\u2019re a hunter, a recreator, or this is the way that they live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flagstaff Police and the Coconino County Sheriff\u2019s Office operate a Wood to Watch program, which allows people to report suspicious activity observed while recreating in the forest.<\/p>\n

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? <\/i>Please click here to report it<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send <\/i>it to us here<\/i> with a brief description.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Northern Arizona town employee investigated over election activity<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A hidden camp in Tonto National Forest left behind 1,000 pounds of trash and a wildfire risk officials say they can\u2019t ignore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nArizona forest camps are raising wildfire risks. Here\u2019s what officials found - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3767\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Arizona forest camps are raising wildfire risks. 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