Fire crews across Arizona battle wildfires this summer
PHOENIX, Ariz. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - From 2,000 charred acres north of Scottsdale to 3,000 smoldering acres south of Tucson, fire crews across arizona are having their handful battling wildfires this summer.
"As temperatures rise, the dry air and a lot of times the afternoon winds, coming out of the southwest is very common. So, high winds dry weather and high heat are a bad mixture," said Shaun DuBois, Fire Captain for the Phoenix Fire Department.
With these harsh conditions, firefighters are urging people to be aware of the dangers.
When a wildfire breaks out crews work on forming a perimeter to prevent the fire from spreading. Their goal is the circle around the fire, and how much they have is how much they have it contained. This, for example, would be 60%.
"It doesn't mean 60% of the fire is out it mean 60% of the perimeter of the fire is being managed fire crews and is under control," DuBois explained.
Fire could still be burning
Once they have completely circled around the fire, it becomes 100% contained, but even if this is the case, the fire could still be burning.
Wildfires can burn for weeks or even months after being completely contained. The area of a wildfires can still be dangerous even if you don't see any flames.
"You can have smoldering stuff, depending on the fuel like brush. If it's a brush fire, it can be smoldering and moving instead of having those big flames that you might be thinking about," DuBois detailed.
There are ways to protect your home especially if you live in rural areas of the state. Keep anything burnable like fire wood and brush at least 15 feet away from your home. And keep your trees trimmed around their base.
"Cut those branches. If you see that it's going beneath your awnings or a wood structure in your home, cut that back so if it does catch fire it will just burn out and not go into your attic," said Dave Folio, Fire Captain for the Scottsdale Fire Department.
