Many issues related to weather can impact your health. Wildfires spawned by lightning can cause respiratory illnesses from smoke and poor air quality. Flash flooding has led to numerous rescues from vehicles and homes. Last year, extreme heat sent at least 2,414 people to Arizona emergency rooms and contributed to 522 deaths. There are many [...]
During a disaster, local, state, and federal governments can declare a state of emergency to free up emergency funding and waive certain regulatory requirements that can impede rapid response. The steps for issuing such a declaration are often complicated by differing laws at the various levels of government. Additionally, it is not always clear how [...]
Arizona may be known for its deserts, but forests make up nearly 27 percent of Arizona’s land. Recently, several wildfires have arisen across the state. By June 28, the Goodwin Fire in Yavapai County has spread to more than 20,000 acres. The Saddle Fire has also grown to nearly 5,000 acres in Cochise County. Evacuations [...]
Governor Ducey proclaimed this week (June 12-17) as Monsoon Awareness Week in Arizona. While we haven’t yet been hit by the rain we expect during monsoon, we’re anticipating another summer of severe weather. Monsoons in Arizona can be associated with extreme heat, thunderstorms, dust storms, flash floods and wildfires. For public health, this means revisiting our preparedness plans and [...]
The first big fire of the season started this week in Oak Creek Canyon- called the Slide fire. Smoke is usually the first public health impact from wildland fires. The air quality in Flagstaff and Sedona has been generally OK- but poor at times depending on the winds (smoke levels in Sedona have been high [...]
The center of gravity for the public health responses to the fires shifted South this week toward the new Monument fire. Early this week folks were allowed to go back to Springerville and Eagar, which meant that it was show-time for Licensing again. We sent a team of surveyors to re-open the licensed facilities that were evacuated last week. [...]
