VIDEO: As the weather warms up again, the peak of wildfire season is just beginning and pilots with the Western Pilot Service are getting ready to take to the skies and help fight fires from the air.
According to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, more than 180,000 acres burned statewide in 2023. Approximately 71% of all of Arizona fires were human-caused.
Beryl Shears, the president and primary owner of Western Pilot Service, hopes people will be responsible. “They need to listen to the authorities, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the State Forestry,” Shears said. “Clear space around the home is the primary thing. If they can clear that brush away, those people that are at risk, near the forest, near the woodland, anywhere cleared away and have a safe space around their home.