The Mohave County Board of Supervisors this week announced support for the restoration of wildfire and flood mitigation funding from the state, which provides $35 million annually to help contain or mitigate disasters across Arizona.
In 2021, the state allocated approximately $140 million for wildfire emergency response across Arizona, with half of that allocated to post-wildfire flood mitigation efforts. The funding served agencies across the state, particularly in northern Arizona, until the state was unable to renew it last year. Currently, the bill, HB 2193, would inject $35 million annually into a fund that would be distributed based on emergency needs across the state.
Under the proposed bill, that money would be exempt from state law that allows it to be returned to the state's general fund.
The bill received second reading in the Arizona House on January 17 and was introduced to the House Armed Services and Public Safety Committee last week.
As HB 2193 awaits possible approval in the state Legislature this year, the emergency response funds promised in the bill could prove to be badly needed in areas of the state.
The Lake Havasu City area has received 1.52 inches of precipitation over the past three months as winter storms continue to blanket the skies over Mohave County, according to the National Weather Service. Elsewhere in Arizona, areas of Interstate 40 and Coconino County were closed due to heavy snow as El Niño precipitation pushed eastward from California.
Mike Browning, director of risk and emergency management for Mohave County, said wet winters have historically led to vegetation growth that ultimately leads to fast-moving wildfires during the region's early summer months. It is said that it has the potential to be used as dry fuel. Browning said this is especially true in low deserts, where high desert regions may have healthier forests and lower wildfire risk this summer.
“Mohave County is at moderate to high risk of wildfire danger,” Browning said Wednesday. “As residential and commercial development increases in rural areas, it becomes more difficult to provide public safety services to populations outside of established fire protection areas.”
Browning said Mohave County collaborates with state, federal and local fire agencies year-round to provide funding, training, equipment grants, training and forest mitigation projects to better serve the Mohave County community. said.
To date, additional state funding has benefited local communities through projects such as warning systems, public education, post-fire flood control measures, vegetation fuel treatment, firefighting equipment, and improved forest health.
The extreme wildfire season causes frequent flash floods in Arizona, while the ongoing drought across the state means wildfires are more devastating than they were 25 years ago, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association. It is said that there is
Before 2000, large fires in Arizona often burned between 20,000 and 50,000 acres, the group said. Recent large fires have burned anywhere from 200,000 acres to 500,000 acres per incident.
The largest wildfire in Arizona history was the Wallow Fire in 2011, which was started by an improperly lit Camp Fire. The fire burned 538,049 acres of forest in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and spread into New Mexico before being contained.
The Mohave County Board of Supervisors issued a letter of support for HB 2193 on Monday at the board's recent meeting in Kingman.
