b'4-H: Wiping Out ULDRIKSONWILDFIRESPERFORMANCE HORSESBy Emilio Martinez & Ava Szogyenyi, Buddyuldriksonhorsemanship.com Discovery 4-H Club928-231-3053Buddy & Kim A rizona wildfires in 2020 burned over one million acres of plants, wildlife habitat, and trees which is much greater than previous years. Last year, Arizona had one of its worst wildfire seasons in nearly a decade! 2021 could be worse still, though. The winter has been dry, and the spring Rancho Rio BonitaWickenburg, AZ is predicted to be hot, windy, and dry as well. Unfortunately, these conditions make it possible forColt Starting Rope & Barrel Horses Consignments many wildfires in the spring Lessons Ground Work Horsemanship and summer.30+ years of experience teaching andThe decrease of water in already dry areas in the southwest training all ages and levels encouraged wildfires to burn through things and spread, well, like wildfire! Roughly 2500 fires Long list of personal and studentburned in Arizona alone in accomplishments at all levels 2020. Of those fires, wildland fire investigators said more than 80% were human-caused. Another factor is that parts of the state rely on snowmelt or runoff to keep fires in check but winter 2019-2020 was a bit warm for the snow portion and a bit dry for the rain portion, which is why fire season started in April and lasted through a good chunk of November! EXPOSING YOUR BUSINESS TOPayson, which is about two hours northeast of Phoenix, doesnt always have a lot of precipitation THOUSANDS OF POTENTIALuntil winter. And in between Phoenix and Top: Author, Emilio, CUSTOMERS MONTHLY Payson, a fire that burned nearly 200,000 acresenjoying the forestalongside the road could have destroyed a smallBottom: Author, Ava, neighboring town. Had the firemen not stoppedwith her mom, Cori, and it, it could have spread past Payson to Pine andbrother, Zoltaneven into New Mexico. A FEW PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES EVERYONE CAN ALL TAKE EVEN WHEN IT ISNT FIRE SEASON ARE: Keep tents and sleeping gear away from any campfire, and be sure not to go to sleep while a fire is burning. Never leave a campfire unattended. Never throw a cigarette out without putting it out with water. Always make sure to put out campfires all the way; use water or even ashes. You never know if the wind could carry residing sparks or increase their size.All states need to be protected during fire season, but Arizona especially because it is very dry and getting drier still! Fewer and fewer monsoons have been coming POINTS PEOPLEin the summer, and since the 1950s, the snowpack has been decreasing in Arizona. IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION Everybody needs to be careful to protect our beautiful state from getting torched. Always call 911 immediately when someone sees a fire and stay burn-free! We hope to see you at a burn-free area in our state soon, so have fun with these helpful tricks CONTACT US TODAY ATto keep the answerNot in our stateto the question Wheres the fire? ArizonaRealCountryMagazine@gmail.com For more information: extension.arizona.edu/4h and extension.arizona.edu/4h/maricopa30 July 2021'