A busy week for local firefighters may only get busier.  

Maricopa Fire and Medical Department responded to five noteworthy fires since the start of the month 12 days ago: a large brushfire, camper fire, bedroom fire, vehicle fire and structure fire. 

The most volatile was the brushfire in the Saddleback Farms neighborhood of east Maricopa Tuesday afternoon. An illegal burn had quickly spread due to heavy wind and abundant fuel, devouring six acres of land, including a junkyard.  

Despite being quickly contained by Maricopa, Ak-Chin and Chandler Fire Departments, it was a taste of what fire professionals believe could come later this year, and something Pinal County saw a lot of last year.  

Last year, between April 1 and May 31, 84 fires in Pinal County burned 2,400 acres, according to Tiffany Davila, spokesperson Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. That was a 54% increase from the 17 fires that burned 85 acres between those dates in 2023. 

“A Department of Forestry and Fire Management fire behavior analyst correlated the spike in activity to measurable precipitation in the area over the last few years causing an influx of grass and brush, specifically, in areas like Hidden [Valley] and Thunderbird Farms. The spike in activity prompted the county to begin issuing citations to residents caught violating the county’s burn ban,” according to the Arizona DFFM Wildland Fire Report 2024, released this week. 

“What we’re looking at is a potential early start to our fire season. Even with the rain we have received over the last week, it’s not really going to be enough to pull us out of our extreme drought status in some parts of the state and, two, lower the risk for a busy fire season,” Davila said.  

In fact, that rain will just add to the available fuel in the area, according to Thunderbird Fire District Chief Allen Alcott, who said recent rains, and some still in the forecast, lend to his concern that fuel will keep accumulating.   

“I know we got some rain coming,” he said. “Four or six weeks after the rain, here come the weeds.” 

Lower elevation areas like Pinal County already have large amounts of dried out vegetation, like invasive buffelgrass and globe chamomile weeds, which after Arizona temperatures start to rise, will dry out and become fuel. 

Despite the fluctuating fire activity, “There really is no ‘fire season’ in Arizona anymore, we can have fire activity year-round.” Davila said, citing there have already been fires in the state during December and February. 

Last year there were a total of 194 wildfires in Pinal County last year, burning 36,000 acres, according to Davila. 

Although Davila said it is too early in the year to know whether or not the Maricopa area will follow last year’s trend, the concern for wildfires in southeastern Arizona remains high. 

• Get a burn permit, follow no-burn days 

• Remove dead, dying or overgrown vegetation 

• Move flammable items such as firewood, propane tanks, patio furniture away from the property 

• Have a go bag ready with important items like food, water, medication documents or money 

• Sign up for alerts through the Pinal County Emergency Management Website