Kimberly Craft

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer released her predictions for the coming fire season yesterday, along with a commitment to increase the state’s preparedness.

Brewer says low rainfall and high temperatures will make the coming months ripe for damaging wildfires.  This year's below average snowfall has increased the potential for large blazes in the state's higher-elevated areas. Authorities also say the southeastern Arizona landscape with its high grass could be a problem.

On the positive side, weather specialists predict fewer red flag days of high winds and low humidity.  The Governor signed a state forestry request for more firefighting resources, including tankers, tactical aircraft and a dozen inmate crews.

The Grand Canyon National Park Airport is planning to expand.

Improvements include a new terminal designed to support major airlines flying in from other major hubs in the country. 

The Arizona Department of Transportation, which owns and operates the airport, plans to complete the new terminal within five years.

ADOT is also looking to use public private partnerships to fund commercial ventures on land already owned by the airport. 

The Grand Canyon National Park Airport  is the third busiest in the state behind Phoenix sky harbor and Tucson International airport. 

Attorney General Tom Horne is denying allegations that he violated campaign laws in 2010. 

Horne is blaming a disgruntled employee for making the allegations in order to protect his job.  

Don Dybus, a prosecutor in the Attorney General’s Tucson Office filed the complaint in February.

He’s charged Horne with violating campaign laws by collaborating with Kathleen Winn, chair of Business Leaders of America. 

That independent expenditure committee spent more than half a million dollars on attack ads against Horne’s democratic opponent. 

Dybus tells Arizona Public Radio  he’s made the charges on ethical grounds. 

He says not reporting  would amount to an obstruction of justice.

The number of reported sexual assaults is expected to increase across Northern Arizona because of what happened April 1.  The FBI’s Uniform Criminal Reporting System has broadened the definition of sexual assault for the first time since the 1930's.

Although most states use broader definitions, under the old federal reporting system, rape is limited to a female victim. 

Last year, victims reported  41 such cases in Flagstaff.  

New criteria have taken effect, and Flagstaff’s Acting Police Chief Kevin Treadway expects the new definition will drastically increase the reporting statistics.

 The large winter storm that passed through northern Arizona earlier this week gave a big boost to the water supply. 

Snowpack makes up 50  to 80 percent of the annual water supply in northern Arizona, and the runoff from that snow is  nature’s reservoir system.   The recent winter weather  increased snow depth in the San Francisco Peaks from 34” to 59”.  That’s according to readings taken hourly at Snowslide Canyon, said Mike Strobel, Director of the National Water and Climate Center.

"That was a good 25 inch boost right there and that helps a lot" Strobel said.  "That gives you  another two and a half inches of water equivalent.   All that adds up to more water availability."

The recent storm in Northern Arizona was a welcome sight for forest fire managers.

In the short term it will affect the moisture and the vegetation,  but  Arizona forests remain extremely dry.  Last month the Rabbit fire burned 125 acres NE of Williams. 

Jjust last weekend wildfire burned 450 acres in the Coronado Forest in Southern Arizona.   Even though fire danger is low now, Punky Moore, of the Williams Ranger District says, forest officials are gearing up.

"I would expect we’ll be getting into fire season shortly after all of this dries, if we don’t get more precipitation," Moore says.

Forest officials have already acted proactively by stressing the message to be fire safe.

A French manufacturer of plastic packaging will soon be opening a manufacturing plant in Flagstaff.  North America IML Containers has leased a 40,000 square foot facility on West Route 66 and will create about 45 high paying jobs.  IML plans to build a much larger facility in Bellmont within the next two years, based on the success of the Flagstaff Plant.