In an emergency, strong communication is essential to keep people safe and ensure a common operating picture among response agencies.  That’s why the deployment and careful handling of the Mobile Emergency Operations and Communications Center proved critical in battling the Sawmill Fire just south of Tucson.

Interagency response efforts keep communities, including natural habitats and infrastructure, safe during emergencies. In the case of wildfires, the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA) relies on its internal entities, the Arizona National Guard and the Division of Emergency Management, to work together to provide a strategic response.

The NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournament brought fans from across the country to Arizona for sports and entertainment festivities. While college basketball teams played to advance to the championship, emergency management and response teams from local, county, state, and federal levels collaborated to keep travelers, visitors and community members safe.

Each year can mean different things when it comes to emergency management. For the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA), 2016 meant a few wildfires to monitor around the State, some severe weather, and a disaster declaration due to hail and flooding in Graham County.

Every year, wildfires burn across the Arizona landscape. During 2016, 2,285 wildfires burned 308,245 acres. The largest fire in Arizona history is the Wallow Fire, which consumed 538,049 acres in 2011 (15,407 acres in New Mexico).