PHOENIX (AP) -- Gov. Janet Napolitano authorized more than $1.2 million Thursday for the Arizona State Land Department to use to prepare the state for what could potentially be the worst fire season in the lower elevations in years.
The money will be used for securing firefighters and engines from rural departments, contracting air tankers, readying the National Guard, and training and equipping Arizona Department of Corrections fire crews.
The shift in wildfire activity from the higher to lower elevations due to an unusually wet winter that has spurred vegetation growth in the desert _ similar to conditions in 1997 _ is worrisome because such blazes that burn weeds and grasses are more erratic and swifter than fires in the mountainous regions, said Land Department forester Kirk Rowdabaugh.
``If these fires burn hot and fast and move across the desert, there will be enormous impacts,'' Rowdabaugh told Napolitano during a briefing at the Capitol.
Fire officials and Napolitano are concerned that communities that haven't been accustomed to such fires _ like Yuma, Oracle, Bisbee and cities in the Phoenix area _ will be ill-prepared to protect homes.
``We are going to have a lot of communities in these fire areas,'' Napolitano said.
The last significant wildfire in the desert that was near a community burned 23,000 acres in north Scottsdale in 1995. No homes were destroyed.
``It came very, very close,'' said Cliff Pearlberg, Land Department wildfire prevention officer.
Since then, wildfires have destroyed hundreds of homes in Arizona's mountain communities. The largest wildfire in state history, 2002's Rodeo-Chediski fire, charred 469,000 acres and destroyed 491 buildings near Show Low in eastern Arizona.
The state, which typically focuses its prevention efforts in such areas in northern Arizona, is refocusing some of its attention on the desert communities this season.
``Just because there is dry grass out there doesn't mean we are going to burn,'' Pearlberg said. ``If people are careful, which is our hope, we are going to be OK.''
The drought that has ravaged the state for nearly a decade has pushed the start of recent fire seasons up to as early as February and prolonged them to as late as October. The normal fire season runs from about May to mid-July.
But with this winter's above-average rainfall, significant fire activity in the higher elevations isn't expected to start until May or June, Rowdabaugh said.
While the extra moisture has been good news for the higher elevations, there is still a large amount of dead vegetation because of the drought that may allow for more robust fires, possibly toward the end of June.
``Just because there is a somewhat lower risk at the higher elevations doesn't mean there is no risk,'' Napolitano said.
In the desert areas, the fires are expected to start about a month after it stops raining, likely by the end of April.
While the rain in parts of Arizona could mean the season will be shorter and less intense, that is not expected to be the case elsewhere.
Northwest states are bracing for a record drought due to a mild winter that left little snowpack. Due to dry weather and trees and brush downed during last year's hurricanes, Florida also is bracing for severe wildfires.
``The Southwest will have a very difficult time competing for those scarce (firefighting) resources,'' said Rowdabaugh.
