Navajo County, Arizona (pop. 106,717) stretches about 9,960 square miles from the Utah line to the White Mountains, and two-thirds of it is Navajo, Hopi and Fort Apache reservation land. Fire protection is a combination system: mostly career fire districts around Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside, Heber-Overgaard and Snowflake-Taylor, city departments in Winslow and Holbrook, small volunteer districts along I-40, the Kayenta Township Fire Department, and White Mountain Apache Fire & Rescue in Whiteriver.
Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District (largest department, non-emergency)
(928) 537-5100- Pinetop Fire District: (928) 367-2199
- Holbrook Volunteer Fire Department (non-emergency/message): (928) 524-3898
- Heber-Overgaard Fire District: (928) 535-4346 · 24/7 burn line (928) 535-6709
- Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District, 3561 E Deuce of Clubs, Show Low, AZ 85901, USA
- timbermesafire.org
- Heber-Overgaard administration: Mon–Fri 8:00–17:00 (MST, no daylight saving)
Who Provides Fire Protection in Navajo County
- Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District — formed from the former Linden, Lakeside, Show Low and White Mountain Lakes fire districts. It covers a fire district of 200+ square miles and an ambulance area of 400+ square miles from six stations (13–17 and 19), and holds ISO Class 3/10.
- Pinetop Fire District — 27 full-time firefighters and 8 wildland specialists (plus up to two dozen seasonal wildland firefighters) at Stations 11 and 12; more than 2,000 calls a year, about 70% medical.
- Other fire districts and departments — Heber-Overgaard (also Chevelon Retreat, Aripine and Antelope Valley), Taylor-Snowflake Fire & Medical, Clay Springs-Pinedale, Joseph City, Sun Valley and Woodruff, plus the city departments of Winslow and Holbrook (all-volunteer).
- Tribal land — White Mountain Apache Fire & Rescue (Whiteriver, Fort Apache Reservation); the Kayenta Township Fire Department, staffed 24/7, which also answers calls as far as Shonto, Chilchinbeto and Navajo Mountain; and Bureau of Indian Affairs fire services at Keams Canyon on the Hopi Reservation. Navajo Nation Fire and Rescue's published station list (Tuba City, Chinle, Leupp and others) shows no station in a Navajo County community.
Staffing and station figures below are as reported to the USFA registry, which is self-reported and may be out of date. Volunteer stations are not always staffed. Call 911 for any emergency; the call is routed to the agency that covers your address.
Fire Departments in Navajo County
| Department | Type | Main station | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District | Fire district, mostly career (6 stations) | 3561 E Deuce of Clubs, Show Low, AZ 85901 (office) | (928) 537-5100 |
| Pinetop Fire District | Fire district, mostly career (2 stations) | 1845 S Pine Lake Rd, Pinetop, AZ 85935 | (928) 367-2199 |
| Heber-Overgaard Fire District | Fire district, mostly career (1 station) | 2061 Lumber Valley Rd, Overgaard, AZ 85933 | (928) 535-4346 |
| Taylor-Snowflake Fire & Medical | Mostly career (2 stations) | 411 Papermill Rd, Taylor, AZ 85939 | (928) 536-7900 |
| Clay Springs-Pinedale Fire Department | Mostly volunteer (2 stations) | 1248 Pinedale Rd, Pinedale, AZ 85934 | (928) 739-4394 |
| Winslow Fire Department | City, mostly paid-per-call (1 station) | 215 N Taylor Ave, Winslow, AZ 86047 | (928) 289-2091 |
| Holbrook Volunteer Fire Department | City, volunteer (3 stations) | 100 Airport Rd, Holbrook, AZ 86025 | (928) 524-3898 |
| Joseph City Fire District | Fire district, paid-per-call (1 station) | 4513 Main St, Joseph City, AZ 86032 | (928) 288-3311 |
| Sun Valley Fire & Rescue | Volunteer (2 stations) | 8611 N Fifth St, Sun Valley, AZ 86029 | (928) 524-1100 |
| Woodruff Fire District | Fire district, volunteer (1 station) | 6414 W 1st St, Woodruff, AZ 85942 | Not published |
| Kayenta Township Fire Department | Township, staffed 24/7 | Kayenta, AZ 86033 | Not published |
| Kayenta Community School Fire Department | Career (1 station, registry) | PO Box 188, Kayenta, AZ 86033 | Not published |
| White Mountain Apache Fire & Rescue | Tribal, mostly volunteer (2 stations) | 610 S Chief Ave, Whiteriver, AZ 85941 | (928) 338-4311 |
Volunteer stations are not always staffed. For anything urgent, call 911 rather than a station number.
Other fire services
- Hopi Agency Fire Rescue — Bureau of Indian Affairs (federal), Keams Canyon, 2 stations
- Bureau of Indian Affairs Fire Department — Keams Canyon, 1 station (same address as above)
Estimated Response Time
We divide each zone's land by its stations and take the radius of an equal circle. Timber Mesa's six stations share a fire district of about 200 square miles, an average radius of roughly 3.3 miles. The other 18 public stations spread over about 9,750 square miles (11 residents per square mile), roughly 13 miles each; this is very rough, because much of the reservation and forest land is barely settled and has no fire district.
| Radius | White Mountains districts (combination) | Rest of county (rural) |
|---|---|---|
| ≤ 1.5 mi | 5–8 min | 8–12 min |
| 1.5–3 mi | 7–10 min | 10–14 min |
| 3–6 mi | 9–13 min | 12–18 min |
| > 6 mi | 13+ min | 18+ min |
Typical expectation: about 7–13 minutes in the Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside area, 8–14 minutes in the towns, and 18+ minutes in much of the rural and reservation land.
Estimated Fire Control Time
| Fire size | Example | Indicative time |
|---|---|---|
| Small | Grass patch, dumpster, small vehicle | 5–20 min |
| Medium | Room-and-contents, car fully involved | 15–45 min |
| Large | Whole house, commercial unit | 45–120 min |
| Major | Multi-alarm, industrial, forest fire | 2–12+ hours |
Outside the towns, water often comes by tanker and neighboring departments assist; expect the upper end of each range. The southern county lies in the pine forests of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, and the Pinetop and Timber Mesa districts list wildland fire among their core services.
Apparatus & Equipment
- Kayenta Township new fire trucks (2022)
- 2
Fleet counts for the other departments are not published. Timber Mesa runs its own fleet shop with four certified fire mechanics.
- Fire suppression
- EMS / ambulance
- Hazmat
- Wildland
Ratings & Accreditation
Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District: ISO PPC Class 3/10 (notified 2019). Ratings for the other departments are not published.
Outdoor burning: In Navajo County, Arizona open-burn permits (for example for weed abatement) are issued by ADEQ at azdeq.gov/OpenBurn; campfires and cooking fires need no permit. Fire districts add their own permits: Pinetop permits expire on December 31, Clay Springs-Pinedale and Holbrook require one, and Heber-Overgaard runs a 24/7 burn line at (928) 535-6709.
Neighboring Counties
- San Juan County, UT (north)
- Apache County, AZ (east)
- Graham County, AZ (south)
- Gila County, AZ (southwest)
- Coconino County, AZ (west)
FAQ
Who provides fire protection in Show Low?
The Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District, formed from the former Linden, Lakeside, Show Low and White Mountain Lakes fire districts. Its non-emergency line is (928) 537-5100.
Who fights fires on the reservations in Navajo County?
White Mountain Apache Fire & Rescue in Whiteriver, the Kayenta Township Fire Department on the Navajo Nation, and Bureau of Indian Affairs fire services at Keams Canyon on the Hopi Reservation. Call 911 in an emergency.
What ISO rating does Timber Mesa have?
Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District was rated ISO Public Protection Classification Class 3/10 in 2019.
How fast does the fire department respond in Navajo County?
About 7–13 minutes for the first unit in the Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside area, and often 18 minutes or more in rural and reservation areas far from a station.
Do I need a burn permit in Navajo County?
Yes for open burning such as weed abatement: apply to ADEQ at azdeq.gov/OpenBurn and check your fire district's own permit rules. Heber-Overgaard's burn line is (928) 535-6709.
Last verified:
- Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District — About (formation, area, ISO)
- Timber Mesa — Stations and Apparatus (stations, fleet shop)
- Pinetop Fire District (staffing, calls, burn permits)
- Heber-Overgaard Fire District (service area, phones, burn line)
- Clay Springs-Pinedale Fire Department
- City of Holbrook — Volunteer Fire Department
- Navajo Nation Department of Health — Community Resources (Navajo Nation fire stations)
- U.S. Fire Administration — National Fire Department Registry (Arizona download, retrieved October 12, 2026)
- Arizona Department of Environmental Quality — Open Burn Permit
- Navajo Times — Kayenta Township fire trucks (2022)
- Wikipedia — Navajo County, Arizona (2020 Census population, area, neighbors)