“Sunday’s gusty winds and hot temperatures … seem to set the stage for what the fire season has in store for Arizona — active,” State Forester Jeff Whitney said. Fire crews are actively battling 30 wildfires.

Decades of overgrown forests and repeated years of drought have led to dangerous fire conditions being the norm.

This, in turn, has resulted in a large portion of the U.S. Forest Service budget being consumed by wildland fire programs. In 1995, the cost of wildland fire-related programs was only 16 percent of the budget. Today, that number is over 50 percent, and is predicted to hit 67 percent by 2025.

Highline Fire

Firefighters are working to fully suppress a 750-acre wildfire burning in the scar of the 1990 Dude Fire north of Payson. A Type 1 Incident Command team assumed direction over the fire Sunday evening as it steadily grew in acreage and put a handful of residents of Bonita Creek Canyon on pre-evacuation notice. Details on the fire can be found at facebook.com/HighlineFireInfo.

Slim Fire

A Type 3 Incident Command team is patrolling and holding burnouts along the 3,241-acre Slim Fire burning two miles north of Forest Lakes and 16 miles west of Heber. The lightning-caused fire does not pose a threat of spreading, officials believe, and is currently contained at 75 percent.

Boundary Fire

A 5,390-acre lightning-caused fire has been burning for more than a week west of Arizona 180 and 17 miles northwest of Flagstaff. With winds subsiding Monday, crews are evaluating introducing fire on higher slopes of the mountain to allow fire to back down the mountain with lower fire severity. A portion of Arizona 180 is temporarily closed.

Lofer Fire

A fire dubbed the Lofer Fire about 20 miles southeast of Whiteriver on the Fort Apache Reservation is now 38 acres. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, fire lines held over the weekend and there was no fire growth. It is 50 percent contained.