VIDEO: Southern Arizona crews can use all the help and extra resources they can get with the multiple wildfires weโve seen throughout the area. Thanks to the Great Plains Interstate Fire Compact, thatโs exactly what theyโve gotten these past few weeks. Utah joined the compact just a couple of weeks ago. Only two days later, crews from that state were headed out to southern Arizona to help out.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill to join the compact last year, allowing the state to bypass the federal ordering system and directly request aid from other states. For the second time since joining, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management tapped into the compact and received more than 20 personnel from Utah, directing them to their Tucson station.
โWeโd rather have the resources here than not have them here if we need them and we start to see an uptick in our fire activity,โ said Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management spokeswoman Tiffany Davila. The task force was originally called in as a precaution after resources from Tucson were sent to the Greer Fire in northern Arizona.
