Southwest Fire Summary

Fire conditions have been ripe this year. Low soil and vegetation moisture due to extended periods of scant precipitation, above-average temperatures, and high winds helped make this year the worst fire season since 1990, when record-keeping began. More than 1.85 million acres burned this year through July 20, according to Predictive Services at the Southwest Coordination Center (Figure 8a). The previous record was in 2002, when 1.05 million acres were charred. Most of the fires in Arizona have occurred in the southeast and the White Mountains, while in New Mexico many of the fires have burned in the eastern part of the state (Figures 8b–c).

The onset of the monsoon in many parts of Arizona during the July 4 weekend helped extinguish many of the large wildfires burning across the Southwest, including the Wallow Fire, the largest recorded fire in the history of Arizona. More than 538,000 acres burned in that blaze, which began on May 29 in the White Mountains, eventually spreading across four counties in Arizona and spilling into New Mexico. Only a few small fires have ignited in Arizona since the monsoon began. The Bolt Fire in the Coconino National Forest is currently the largest active fire in Arizona. It has blackened 590 acres since flames first erupted on July 21.  

New Mexico on the other hand, has not received much monsoon moisture and continues to experience large wildfires. The Las Conchas Fire is the largest active fire in the Southwest. It began on June 26, 12 miles southwest of Los Alamos and has burned about 157,000 acres.