The report predicted significant fire activity will not start until May because trees, shrubs and grass are wetter than normal.
In a region haunted by an almost decade-long drought, some fire seasons have started as early as February and lasted as late as October. The normal fire season runs from May to mid-July.
The added moisture is good for the mountainous high country, but bad for the desert. That is because the longer the moisture lingers in desert areas, the taller and thicker vegetation will grow _ providing more fuel for brush fires later in the year.
The report, released Friday by the Southwest Coordination Center in New Mexico, said lower and mid-elevations can expect to see ``normal to somewhat above normal activity consistent with wet years of past.''
``The high country won't be as significant a problem as it has been in recent years, but the desert is going to burn,'' said Don VanDriel, a fire manager for Tonto National Forest in eastern Arizona.
Fire officials from Arizona and New Mexico met Monday to discuss projections and begin preliminary resource planning, said Arizona state Forester Kirk Rowdabaugh.
In the last few years, wildfires have destroyed hundreds of homes in Arizona and cost millions of dollars to fight. The state's largest wildfire occurred in 2002, burning 469,000 acres and destroying 491 buildings in eastern Arizona.
