Extraordinary weather in New Mexico is leaving Arizona with better access to the equipment and machinery needed to fight wildfires in the state.

Thanks to an abundance of inclement weather this winter in that state, Arizona is less likely to have to compete for firefighting resources, officials said.

“New Mexico easily got twice as much snow as it usually does,” said Chuck Maxwell, a meteorologist with the Southwest Coordination Center in Albuquerque, N.M., which directs wildland firefighting in Arizona and New Mexico and west Texas.

“The bottom line is there is not a lot of potential (for fires) unless something really dramatic were to happen.”

Arizona officials have already called up dozens of airplanes and helicopters and hundreds of firefighters to battle blazes erupting around the state.

Having those diverse resources at the ready is crucial to fighting any fire. When a wildfire breaks out, an incident commander, or fire boss, looks to local and regional sources first when requesting more firefighters, engines and air support.

East Valley Tribune