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Navajo County lifts regional fire restrictions and adopts updated hazard mitigation plan
Summary
Emergency management staff reported improved conditions and the White Mountain Fire Coordination Group voted to lift regional fire restrictions; supervisors also adopted the county's five-year Multi-Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan (resolution 26-24).
Navajo County officials announced that, following improved humidity and corrected fire-weather conditions, the White Mountain Fire Coordination Group voted on July 1 to lift regional fire restrictions across Apache and Navajo counties and federal- and state-managed lands in the area.
Katrina, who briefed the board on wildfire-season status, said the weekly coordination group considered recent increases in relative humidity and the larger fire-weather picture before recommending the change. "We are never out of danger when it comes to wildfire," she told supervisors, urging continued vigilance and public preparedness despite the lifted restrictions. She also highlighted community outreach and prevention work, including a multi-agency fire prevention education team and an upcoming Firewise block party on July 13 at Blue Ridge Elementary School.
The board also considered and unanimously adopted Resolution 26-24, the 2024 Navajo County Multi-Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan, a required five-year update that must be adopted locally before FEMA completes its approval process. Katrina said the draft was submitted jointly to the state emergency management agency and FEMA and that she did not anticipate major changes from federal or state reviewers.
What happens next: The hazard mitigation plan adoption keeps the county eligible for certain federal mitigation grants and programs and the lifted restrictions remain subject to re-imposition if conditions worsen.
