Blood, Trauma, and Biohazard Cleanup in Heber-Overgaard, AZ

Heber-Overgaard is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in Navajo County, Arizona, governed by the Navajo County Board of Supervisors rather than a municipal government.

The CDP joins two adjoining unincorporated communities, Heber and Overgaard, whose proximity led the Census Bureau to combine them under the merged name Heber-Overgaard beginning with the 1990 census.

Heber was settled in 1883 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was named for either Heber J. Grant or Heber C. Kimball, both prominent Latter-day Saint leaders.

Heber's post office was established in 1890, with pioneer settler James Shelley appointed its first postmaster on September 11, 1890.

Overgaard was settled around 1936 and named for Kristen Kristensen (Chris) Overgaard, owner of the area's first sawmill, which anchored the community's early timber economy.

The community sits atop the Mogollon Rim at an elevation of 6,627 feet, within the White Mountains and surrounded by the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.

The 2020 census counted 2,898 residents in Heber-Overgaard, up slightly from 2,822 at the 2010 census.

The 2020 census recorded 1,350 occupied households and 3,547 total housing units in the CDP, with a large share of homes vacant seasonally because many are second homes.

In the summer of 2002, the Rodeo-Chediski Fire destroyed 268 structures in Heber-Overgaard, mainly in Overgaard, and forced the community's evacuation for nearly two weeks.

The Apache-Sitgreaves Observatory on Overgaard's east side, opened to the public in 2017, offers night-sky viewing through a 36-inch telescope described as the largest dedicated public telescope in Arizona.