A new wildfire season is here and it’s early. That means it could be another record-breaking summer due to excessive drought, fire officials warn.

Arizona is already experiencing record-shattering dry conditions due to the drought, which has dragged on for more than two decades. Currently, the is designating most of Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­nder the two highest categories, “extreme” and “exceptional” drought. 

Windy conditions make fires more likely to spark. Public officials, fire agencies and private organizations are taking steps to prevent disasters and calling on everyone to be extra cautious this year. 

“To help prevent wildfires, it is important that Arizonans enjoy our beautiful outdoors responsibly,” Gov. Doug Ducey said. “There are many common sense precautions we can all take to minimize fire risk, including making sure campfires are out cold before walking away. My sincere thanks to the firefighters, safety officials and everyone working to protect lives, pets and property this season.” 

A typical fire season runs from May to July. This year, the season started in March with the northwest of Roosevelt Lake where about 350 acres burned. So far this year, Arizona fire crews have battled around 100 wildfires. 

As of Tuesday, there were more than 40 fires across the state including 11 active fires involving more than 1,000 acres, according to the tracking website, the .

State and feds investing in resources to help 

State and federal officials have been preparing for an intense fire season. 

In Arizona, Gov. Ducey successfully pushed for $24 million to increase workforce and partnerships through the , initiating new funding for programs and public-private partnerships to clean up hazardous fuels, thin out forests and attract forest industries to the state. 

More inmates trained to fight wildfires 

Part of the initiative is funding to expand a to train and deploy low-risk inmates to fight wildfires, learn job skills in the process, and transition to work upon release. This year, about 700 inmates can participate in the program. 

Arizona’s congressional members push for more firefighters 

Arizona’s U.S. congressional delegation members have also pushed for legislation to fund wildfire assistance, including funding from federal pandemic recovery packages. 

Arizona U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, for example, worked to get the assess the hiring and retention of federal wildland firefighters for effective fire management and issue recommendations to strengthen Arizona’s federal firefighting force.

“Wildfires in Arizona and across the west are a near-constant threat,” Sinema said. “I am glad the federal government listened to our calls to take common sense steps to better protect Arizona communities from dangerous wildfires.” 

Forest mechanical thinning industries wanted  

To address the huge need for forest thinning industries in Arizona, a unique public-private partnership, known as 4FRI (the Four Forest Restoration Initiative), whose ultimate goal is working to achieve an ultimate goal of thinning 2.4 million acres of forest land. 4FRI is a collaboration between the U.S. Forest Service, other public agencies and private and non-profit organizations.  

As part of the project, the U.S. Forest Service is for one of the largest forest thinning initiatives ever issued. To attract bidders, the RFP is the first 20-year contract in the agency’s history.

It calls for awarding contracts to companies to mechanically thin 605,000 to 818,000 acres of forests in Northern Arizona. The RFP is available to both small and large businesses and seeks proposals that are “sustainable, innovative, feasible, and cost-effective to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration.”

The Forest Service plans to spend $550 million over the next 20 years to work in four national forests: Apache-Sitgreaves, Coconino, Kaibab and Tonto. Business and industry will play a key role in this effort by harvesting, processing, and selling wood products.

Humans are first line of defense 

Most fires are caused by human activity. State leaders and fire officials are encouraging citizens to be more aware this summer. Here some tools:

–A free fire info app that offers citizens access to real-time wildfire information. They can also send in tips and sign up for alerts. Download the app from iTunes or Google Play by searching for: Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.

–Current fire restriction websites Currently, all 13 counties in Arizona are under fire restrictions. For a listing, visit:   

Simple tips to practice:

• Always extinguish campfires
• Dispose of cigarettes and matches properly
• Never drag chains on the roadway
• Never fly drones in or around an active wildfire area

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Arizona’s top water officials spoke to the manufacturing community Wednesday about what’s being done to protect the state’s water supplies for future growth in this new era of climate change. 

In fact, there is the potential for the state to experience its first-ever water shortage next year, they said. A 20-year drought with no end in sight is shrinking the Southwest’s most important water resource, the mighty Colorado River. 

For now, there’s enough water to support the state’s blooming industry base, said Tom Buschatzke, the director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), and Ted Cooke, general manager of the Central Arizona Project (CAP), during a virtual “breakfast” meeting of the (AMC), the voice of the manufacturing sector. 

Proactive conservation efforts over the past seven years including a seven-state-plus-Mexico drought plan to conserve and share resources have resulted in an extra 40 feet of water in Lake Mead, the “storage tank” for Colorado River supplies, they said. 

“In the near term, our residents can be assured that their water supplies are more reliable and secure and the economies and the state supported by this Colorado River can thrive and are more secure,” Bushatzke said.

Potential for state’s first-ever shortage in 2022 

That doesn’t mean big challenges don’t lie ahead. But they are nothing new for Arizona, which uses less water today than it did in the 1950s because of new technologies and methods that “get more use out of every drop,” Buschatzke said. 

As the Colorado diminishes, Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ust invest in new technology and innovation and find new resources for water other than the river, they said. 

Next year, Arizona is anticipating its first-ever shortage declaration on the Colorado River. The shortage will result in a substantial cut to Arizona’s share of the river, with reductions falling largely to central Arizona agricultural users.

Currently, the river is operating in a “Tier Zero” status, requiring the state to contribute 192,000 acre-feet of Arizona’s 2.8 million acre-foot annual entitlement to Lake Mead. This contribution is coming entirely from the CAP system. 

Based on the current hydrology, it is likely that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will elevate the shortage level to a “Tier 1” in 2022. This would require Arizona to reduce uses by a total of 512,000 acre-feet, again, borne almost entirely by the CAP system. 

Cities and tribes, which are considered “high priority” users when it comes to Colorado River water, will not be affected by the cuts during a Tier 1 shortage. If the state dips into the next lower level, “Tier 2,” cuts to water allocations would be more widespread among users in order to leave water in Lake Mead. 

River will continue to be resource for generations to come 

While there are “big challenges” ahead and less water coming to Arizona from the Colorado River, it will continue to be a vital source of water for generations to come, said Cooke, of the CAP, which delivers Colorado River water to the populous desert regions in the center of the state including the the Sun Corridor mega region that stretches from metro Phoenix to metro Tucson.

Clock ticking on new drought plan for 2026

With the updated DCP doing its job, Buschatzke and Cooke are once again embarking on the years-long process to renegotiate a new DCP in 2026. They will be working with not only stakeholders within Arizona, but officials in Mexico and the six other Colorado Basin states: California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. 

As they did in 2019, Buschatzke and Cooke are leading a statewide committee, the new , to negotiate the new plan. The committee is nearly a carbon copy of the previous 40-member DCP committee. include municipal and other water officials, tribes, agricultural groups, homebuilder associations, lawmakers, and the Governor’s Office. 

Augmentation council working to find new water supplies

Another committee,the , is charged with finding new water resources beyond the Colorado River and targeting conservation projects.  

“There’s no silver bullet” but manufacturers can feel confident that Arizona is well prepared for the coming years, Cooke said. 

“The important thing to remember is, we have a plan. It’s called the Drought Contingency Plan. Lots of people were involved to make this work and while this plan is being implemented, we’re working on the next plan,” he said. 

Follow what’s happening with drought on new website  

All of the basin states are struggling with drought. Arizona has seen some level of drought at least since 2002. Last year was the calendar year on record for the state and the driest since 1956. 

To better serve stakeholders, decision makers and the public, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Integrated Drought Information System recently launched a major redesign of . 

This one-stop resource has several features including:

• Drought conditions down to the and level, including current conditions, key indicators of drought, outlooks and forecasts, water supply impacts, historical drought conditions, and more. You can also access curated lists of drought early warning resources for and the entire .
• Historical data and maps, including an where viewers can compare three historical drought datasets side by side down to the county level: U.S. Drought Monitor data going back to 2000, Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) data going back to 1895, and paleoclimate data from tree-ring analysis going back to the year 0 for some regions of the U.S.

By Sector section, which shows drought impacts on different economic sectors, such as agriculture, energy, water utilities, and tourism and recreation.

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Eight major corporations have contributed more than $1.5 million to shore up Arizona’s dwindling water supplies in a conservation project with the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) in western Arizona. 

Intel Corp., Microsoft, Cox, The Coca-Cola Foundation, Procter & Gamble, Reformation, Silk, and Swire Coca-Cola, USA are providing the funding as part of the project that was developed through the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) negotiations in Arizona. 

The funding builds on prior commitments that now bring the total private and philanthropic funding to over $6 million, or 75 percent, of an $8 million goal to help support the DCP.

The money will help increase water supply reliability in the state that has watched the Colorado River shrink under a decades-long drought, said Todd Reeve, director of Business for Water Stewardship (BWS), who announced the transfer of the funding last week. 

“It’s remarkable to see the business community come together like this—with some of the world’s most successful companies working to ensure that Arizona’s long-term water security remains a priority, ” Reeve said. 

Tribe working to protect environment, economy 

As an original user along the river with senior priority rights, CRIT is a large holder of Colorado River supplies. The tribe has been actively involved in the DCP negotiations to find solutions to reduce future water shortages. 

With funding from the state and the corporate and nonprofit community, the tribe has agreed to conserve up to 150,000 acre-feet of its Colorado River water allocation, which will directly shore up Lake Mead, Arizona’s holding “tank” for Colorado River water.

Keith Moses, vice chairman of the CRIT, said the tribe looks forward to working with the private and public partners to “maximize the environmental and economic value of our federally reserved water rights.”

The funding also supports longer-term CRIT efforts to modernize irrigation systems and conserve water. 

“Our contribution to the DCP was just the beginning of our plan to actively manage our water rights to both provide for our people and to protect and preserve the river,” Moses said. “This is a team effort, and we know we can build upon our successes in the years to come.” 

Nonprofits match funds for water shortage prevention

This newest round of corporate funding is being matched by private philanthropic funds from the Water Funder and the Arizona Community to total over $1.5 million. 

New era of business involvement

The collective funding agreement from corporations and foundations to conserve water is the single largest collaborative effort of its kind in Arizona, Reeve said.

He said this showing of business commitment highlights a new era of water policy, where the business community “not only understands what is at stake, but also chooses to directly drive water solutions that make Arizona a great place to invest, hire, and grow.” 

About Business for Water Stewardship 

Business for Water Stewardship is a program of the Bonneville Environmental Foundation that helps businesses advance solutions to ensure that local communities, economies and ecosystems have enough clean water to flourish. BSW provides ways for businesses to actively help sustain rivers and replenish aquifers, promote forward-looking water policies, and boost their reputations as environmental stewards.

Learn more at  

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