Arizona wildfires and COVID-19: Firefighters are fighting two battles

  • Source: Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com & KPNX-TV NBC 12 Phoenix - Metered Site
  • Published: 07/16/2020 06:39 PM

PHOTOS: For the men and women fighting Arizona wildfires this summer, amidst a pandemic, almost every aspect of day-to-day life has changed drastically. Pre-pandemic firefighters had their own way of life, including routine morning briefings, respectful handshakes and community meals. Now, everything has changed. Every meal is pre-packaged and firefighters have to eat 6 to 10 feet apart, crew members wave at each other instead of shaking hands, and they attend virtual briefs on their smart phones or radios instead of massive and crowded in-person ones. To add to the challenge of a pandemic, this has been one of the gnarliest wildfire seasons due to a wet winter and dry summer conditions which fed massive wildfires across Arizona, including the Bighorn Fire, Mangum Fire and Bush Fire, which ranged from about 71,000 acres to more than 193,455 acres.



Comments

We welcome comments from registered users. Comments are solely the responsibility of those who post them; their viewpoints are not endorsed by the Daily Dispatch and DailyDispatch.com. (read more)
Highlight
ship name
no comments have been added


FREE QUICK SUBSCRIBE
Sign up to subscribe to custom state Daily Dispatch emails for free

click to subscribe