New Dispatch Center For Faster Wildfire Attacks

A new interagency dispatch center located at Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa will provide Central Arizona with initial attack dispatching & logistical support for emergency management. Phoenix Interagency Dispatch will consolidate 3 separate dispatch centers now providing support for the Tonto National Forest & 2 Bureau of Indian Affairs centers serving the Pima & San Carlos communities.

“By combining our resources, we will be better able to provide faster, more efficient response in the event of a wildfire,” said San Carlos Superintendent Janice Staudte. “We are working together to improve the safety & efficiency of our operations.”

The center will track & process orders for the aircraft, equipment, crews & supplies needed to respond to wildland incidents on the agencies’ lands.

“There are a lot of moving pieces in play during a busy fire season,” said Tonto National Forest Fire Management Officer Jeff Borucki. “It just makes sense for us to get together & direct these resources from one location.”

Locating the new center at Williams Gateway will bring additional benefits, according to Borucki.

“Williams Gateway already serves as a hub for incident operations. Last year we moved more than 2,800 firefighters either on their way to support incidents somewhere else or coming here to help fight Arizona’s wildfires,” he said. “By locating at the airport, we will have the space we need to consolidate these 3 operations.”

To report wildland fires or other serious incidents on these federal lands, call 1-866-746-6516. This emergency number is staffed 24 hours a day by dispatch center operators.