Wildfire season challenged by COVID-19

Wildfires are always a danger in Arizona’s deadly dry heat, but this year is already worse than normal. We sat down with Arizona State Fire Management Officer, John Truett, to discuss how COVID-19 and other factors are impacting the fire season.

This summer, we’ve seen three of the largest fires in Arizona’s history, some so severe they required evacuations. According to Truett, the challenging part for his team was isolating officers from one another and having little in-person communication.

Truett believes the fires would’ve been less challenging pre-COVID-19. But with the conditions, they made the best of it through video conferencing and on-ground tactics.

Though fire season is at the end, Truett says post-flooding will be monitored closely.