This project was made possible through a grant from the arizona department of forestry & fire management. We’re also grateful for the support of the U.S. Forest SErvice Tonto National Forest.

the 2020 Bush Fire

On June 13th, 2020 an individual driving south on SR87 from Payson to Phoenix, noticed their car was overheating and smoke was coming out from underneath. They pulled off the highway to safely inspect the vehicle, but they pulled onto dry grass and the heat from the brakes sparked the 5th largest wildfire in Arizona history.

Years of extreme drought & increased fuel loads (largely made up of non-native, invasive weeds & shrubs) carried the flames through 193,455 acres of the Tonto National Forest. It devastated multiple ecosystems as the fire burned over the top of Four Peaks and back down towards Roosevelt Lake. Unfortunately, most of the fire occurred in the Sonoran Desert, an ecosystem that has not evolved or adapted to wildfires. With the impact to over 80,000 iconic saguaros, Natural Restorations is dedicated to the long-term efforts to restore & revegetate the area.

11,720 Pounds (5.86 tons) of invasive grass removed

886 saguaros replanted in the 2020 bush fire burn scar

279 other native desert cacti replanted

60 pounds of native wildflower seed mix spread

This grant from the Arizona Department of Forestry & Fire Management gave us the opportunity to expand our project area, create new firebreaks, & maintain our project areas to help protect them from catastrophic wildfires. We accomplished our objectives working on this project with our Dedicated Restoration Team & hosting 2 volunteer events in March and April to get community members involved.

With grant funding from the Arizona Department of Forestry & Fire Management, our objective was to remove invasive grass, replant the area with native Sonoran Desert cacti, including saguaros, and reseed the area with Sonoran Desert Wildflower seed mix comprised of Mexican Gold Poppy, Desert Globe Mallow, Desert Lupine, Desert Marigold, & Desert Bluebells.

Thank you to the Arizona Department of Forestry & Fire Management and the U.S. Forest Service Tonto National Forest for helping us make lasting impacts on Arizona’s natural spaces, the veterans on our team, & the volunteers who joined us in March & April, we are grateful for your support!

Scroll down to check out photos, including before & afters, of invasive grass removal, replanting, seed spreading, & two volunteer events.