Trees for Arizona is a direct community response program addressing the needs of the environment as a result of the fires that have consumed more than 851,000 acres throughout Arizona and are continuing to bring devastation.

Of the total current acreage, an estimated 30,000 acres are privately owned, held by home and business owners, and municipalities.

All contributions for this program will be dedicated to managing the resources needed to replant on residential, commercial and community lands in areas damaged by the fires. The Trees for Arizona program includes:

• education for property owners
• growing and distribution of native trees
• planting of native shrubs, grasses and other vegetation

Get Involved:

1. Become a community collaborator or sponsor
2. Facebookand Twitter
3. Spread the Word
4. Donate

ACTC Launches Effort to Replant Native Trees Lost in the Wallow Fire

As the Wallow Fire, the largest fire in Arizona history, continues to burn, the Arizona Community Tree Council is initiating efforts to replant trees on residential, commercial and community lands damaged by the fire. The Arizona Community Tree Council estimates more than a half-million seedlings will be planted.

"As with the Rodeo-Chediski's "Trees for the Rim" program, the Arizona Community Tree Council (ACTC) Trees for Arizona program will coordinate the replanting efforts and is creating a special fund to manage the contributions," said ACTC President Harold Hummer. "ACTC will work with volunteer organizations and will be replanting trees and forest shrubs beginning October 2011."

Trees for Arizona is a community response program of the Arizona Community Tree Council dedicated to securing financial resources for replanting trees on residential, commercial and community lands damaged by fires around the state of Arizona including the Wallow Fire. Click here if you would like to assist in these efforts.

The climate in Arizona's high country is as unique as its massive stand of pines had been. Forest experts realize that importing and planting seedlings from other areas will not be successful. The Arizona Community Tree Council had previously collected seeds from native trees in the area damaged by the fires and is now in the process of germinating them in greenhouses at Northern Arizona University.

The Wallow Fire has burned more than 532,086 acres of high country as of June 23, 2011, becoming the largest fire in Arizona's history and the 10th largest forest fire in the United States in the last 100 years. The scope of devastation nearly defies description - almost 750 square miles burned to moonscape appearance, the largest continuous stand of ponderosa pines on earth scarred with serious damage to Arizona's watershed areas, destruction of wildlife and the mountainous habitat of thousands of animals, and measurable loss of oxygen production in our immediate area's eco-system.

The Wallow Fire is one of five fires currently burning across Arizona. Collectively all five fires have consumed more than 851,354 acres in Arizona as of June 23, 2011. Statistics of all current Arizona fires are summarized below as of June 23, 2011.

• Willow Fire started June 19, 2011; current size: 213 acres, percent contained:45%; location: one mile north of Bear Canyon Lake on the Mogollon Rim
   
• Monument Fire started June 12, 2011; current size: 28,236 acres, containment: 59%; location: the Huachuca Mountains in the Coronado National Forest, just north of the Arizona-Mexico border; the breakdown of ownership burned is: USFS 14,471; private 8,074; NPS 4,843; BLM 198; State 455; DOD 195. http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2324/
   
• Murphy Complex (Includes the Murphy Fire and Pajarita Fire) started May 30, 2011; current size: 68,078 acres; percent contained: 90%; estimated cost to date: $5,500,000; fuels: grass, shrub, oak, mesquite http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2268/
   
• Wallow Fire started Sunday, May 29, 2011 size: 532,086 acres, percent contained: 58% acres by ownership: USFS = 496,838, AZ State= 4,531, Private = 6,284, San Carlos Indian Reservation= 9,200, Fort Apache Indian Reservation = 12,972. http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2262/
   
• Horseshoe 2 Fire: began Sunday May 8, 2011; current size: 222,954 acres; percent contained:45%; acres by ownership: private 13,934; state 2,874; USFS 192,647; BLM 1,336; NPS 12,163. http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2225/