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Wildfire forecast for 2020 will be similar to 2019, Bureau of Land Management says

"We will have large fires. Fire is inevitable," BLM spokeswoman Dolores Garcia said.

ARIZONA, USA — Wildfire season is approaching in Arizona, and Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Dolores Garcia believes it will be similar to what the state saw in 2019.

“What you saw last year is very much what we consider a ‘normal’ fire season,” Garcia said. “We will have fires. We will have large fires. Fire is inevitable. It’s part of where we’re living.”

In 2019 heavy snow in the high country in late February and heavy rain in the Valley during the same period caused an increase in vegetation growth.

“Those winter and spring rains have brought that grass crop and those weeds into play to become dry fuel,” Garcia said.

RELATED: More Arizona firefighters head to Australia to help fight wildfires

According to BLM statistics, people cause about 1,000 fires per year. Even though human activity has decreased thanks to social distancing measures put in place because of the coronavirus, Garcia says people who can’t work and need to stay away from others have been camping more, and so the risk of wildfires caused by humans has stayed as high as it was before the virus.

Garcia says the best thing you can do to prepare for wildfire season is to take a look around the yard while you are stuck at home. Trim branches, cut grass, pull weeds, and rake out dead leaves and pine needles from beneath wooden decks.

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