Arizona wildfire smoke forecast

The map shows NOAA HRRR-Smoke near-surface PM2.5 for the next 48 hours, updated hourly, with active fire perimeters from NIFC and live AQI from EPA AirNow monitors. It opens over Phoenix. Search any town or use the buttons above.

Arizona runs on a different fire calendar from the Northwest. The peak is May and June, before monsoon moisture arrives, when fires in the ponderosa belt along the Mogollon Rim send smoke down into Phoenix, Sedona, and the Verde Valley on nighttime drainage winds. Prescribed burns on the Kaibab and Coconino forests add smoke on calm spring mornings with no wildfire anywhere. Late summer brings a second, imported layer as Pacific Northwest and California plumes ride the upper flow across the state.

Use the layer toggle to compare NOAA HRRR-Smoke with the ECCC FireWork model. When the two disagree, treat the higher reading as the cautious call.

Near-surface is the product that maps to what you breathe and to AQI, not the high-altitude column that only tints the sunset.