Mountain rescues in Phoenix are up 50% so far in 2026, compared to 2025.
Phoenix Assistant Fire Chief Mark Gonzales told the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee on Wednesday that the fire department has averaged 15 mountain rescues per month in the first five months of 2026, compared to 10 per month in the first five months of 2025.
That also surpasses the per-month rate of what the city of Phoenix calls its “heat season,” May-September, in 2025 when the fire department averaged 11.4 mountain rescues per month.
