This winter has been historically dry for northern Arizona, which has made forest officials nervous.
But conditions improved after March storms brought significant snow and rain to the region.
Successive storms this month brought more than 35 inches of snow to the Flagstaff region, which has improved high-elevation snowpack and lessened the near-term threat of wildfire.
Prescott saw about double its normal rainfall so far this month.
Coconino National Forest Fire Planner Jesse Causer says the forests are in a much better place than a month ago but much of the region has still seen less than 25% of normal winter precipitation.
“We're still below about 30 inches of our seasonal normal," Causer says. "So we're not out of the proverbial woods, but it gets us closer to our normal fire season. And it certainly got us a long way away from where we were in January when we were very dry.”
Causer says warm temperatures are expected to dry forests out in the coming weeks and the public should pay close attention to red flag warnings and wildfire conditions.
According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, despite the wet March, most of northern Arizona remains in severe or extreme drought.
