Confronting the Wildfire Crisis: Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management collaborates with Tonto National Forest to restore Dude Fire burn area

Release Date: Dec 6, 2023

Contact(s): Susan Blake, (480) 647-8082

PHOENIX, Dec. 6, 2023 — “Living with fire”-- understanding its role in ecology, management and communities -- is an expression that became all too real for Arizonans following the devastating Dude Fire 33 years ago.

High temperatures, drought conditions and the accumulation of dry, ground fuels created ideal wildfire conditions. A lightning strike ignited the Dude Fire on June 25, 1990, beneath the Mogollon Rim on the Tonto National Forest Payson Ranger District. Within 17 hours, a raging inferno was threatening a forest subdivision.

By the time firefighters declared the Dude Fire “controlled” 10 days later, it had burned more than 24,000 acres in two national forests, destroyed 63 homes and claimed the lives of six firefighters. It led to federal and state agencies asking how they could improve forest resiliency and reduce the wildfire risk to communities and infrastructure. After thorough interdisciplinary research using the best sciences available, the answer was the Dude Fire Restoration Project.

The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management (AZDFFM) awarded the contract earlier this year and is overseeing implementation of this large-scale restoration project through the Good Neighbor Authority -- a cooperative agreement that allows the USDA Forest Service (as well as the Bureau of Land Management) to authorize states, counties, and federally recognized Indian tribes to conduct certain projects on federal lands in pursuit of specified land management goals.

AZDFFM is collaborating with the Tonto along with the Salt River Project (SRP) and Arizona Game and Fish Department to confront the wildfire crisis along the Mogollon Rim. The Good Neighbor Authority allows AZDFFM to implement watershed restoration, forest management and wildfire risk reduction.

Dee Hines, DFFM Operations Forester, Central District, said the Department of Forestry Management is very pleased to be part of this partnership, restoring the Dude Fire scar to a ponderosa pine forest.

“We live in a fire adapted forest here along the Mogollon Rim,” Hines said. “With this project and our continued diligence, this restored forest will be resilient in the face of fire for many years to come."

Phase 1 of the Dude Fire Restoration project is under way. Crews are restoring 1,452 acres of ponderosa pine and woodland by removing encroaching vegetation adjacent to private land and infrastructure and within ponderosa pine plantations. Mastication of vegetation will reduce the risk of catastrophic fire behavior and effects in and around the project area. Mastication refers to the use of several different types of equipment to grind, chip, or break apart fuels such as brush and small trees and turn them into smaller pieces, reducing the density of fuels that surround pine trees. Officials project a spring 2024 completion for Phase 1.

The Forest Service’s goal is to improve the health and vigor of ponderosa pine trees planted in the 1990s after the Dude Fire. This project will remove competing brush and woodland tree species in preparation for the planting of new pine seedlings later this decade.

The project also improves two key watersheds, Upper East Verde and Ellison Creek, which flow into the Verde and Salt River watersheds.

The Dude Fire Restoration project is part of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative. Commonly referred to as 4FRI, it is one of 21 landscapes that the Forest Service recently identified as part of its 10-year strategy for confronting the wildfire crisis. In addition to partner projects in at risk areas, maintaining tribal connections is a critical component of the initiative. Currently the Forest Service consults with 17 Native American Tribes as well as 10 Navajo Nation chapters on 4FRI.