PHOENIX — The National Fire Prevention Education Team came to the Interagency Fire Center in Mesa Tuesday to promote wildfire education and prevention.
In response to National Forests and public lands statewide experiencing extreme fire conditions, the team arrived to aid several agencies to educate the community on present wildfire dangers and ways they can be prevented.
National Fire Prevention Education Team member Brad Bramlett says with resources being more strained in the Southwest due to extreme fire conditions, it's more important now to do our part.
"We want to make sure we can keep one less spark out there in the environment to reduce those chances," Bramlett stated.
Some things people can do to help prevent fires include checking tire pressure, maintaining vehicle brakes, and securing trailer chains since sparks can cause a wildfire to develop.
The team says half the wildfires in Arizona and New Mexico are human caused.
When fires do start, however, the crew at the Mesa Gateway Airtanker Base takes action.
The around the clock operation monitors fires nationwide and sends teams to fight wildfires, including airtankers.
"They're a national resource from here to southern California to Colorado," says Mesa Gateway Airtanker Base Manager Chris Price.
