BUSH FIRE EVENING UPDATE: The Bush Fire started at approximately 2:00 pm today, near the intersection of Bush Hwy and Hwy 87. The fire is estimated to be 600 acres, and burning to the north towards the Sugarloaf Recreation area along the southbound lanes of Hwy 87. The fire has crossed Hwy 87 to the east and is now burning along Four Peaks Road. There is no containment at this time.
Currently there are 9 engines, 2 hotshot crews and 4 airtankers assigned to the fire. Three additional crews and multiple engines have been ordered, and are responding to the fire. Firefighters are working to hold the fire on the west side of Hwy 87, and are building containment lines and using firing operations to suppress the fire.
Hwy 87 is currently closed in both directions at the FS RD 143, which is the road to Four Peaks and Sugarloaf. At this time, Lower Sycamore Canyon, Sugarloaf Recreation area and Four Peaks Recreation area are closed. The Bush Fire is currently under investigation. Law enforcement personnel are conducting sweeps of the closure areas to safely escort members of public out of the fire area. No structures are threatened at this time and no injuries have been reported.
TLDR: 87 is closed at 4 peaks road and you will have to go through globe to get to payson
Edit: Now the reroute through globe is no longer viable, access between payson and phoenix is via camp verde
Edit2: Fire has been contained and the highways reopened, thanks to the firefighter crews.
Last edited by nonot on Jun 28 2020 11:43 am, edited 2 times in total.
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, ankle-twisting, HAZmaster crushing ROCKS!!
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, shin-stabbing, skin-shredding plants!
Hike Arizona it is full of striking, biting, stabbing, venomous wildlife!
Tonight on drive down the hill from Payson in the burn area there is a strange light atop a mountain near MP210 on 87 South that flashes blue, green, red, and maybe another color continuously?
Suspect this is fire related but very strange as mountain is north of Ballentine TH.
I drove down from Payson yesterday and saw everything for the first time. Mt Ord made me sick to my stomach. I wonder how long it will be before the ash and dirt completely fills up Slate Creek and they start having problems with the highway? From Ballantine to Bush Highway simply made me want to cry. Both sides of the road and entire Saguaro Forests just... gone. All from one stupid car. And it looks like another Non-Soon year is happening, so anything that was already stressed won't make it either. Some of the Saguaros along the Ballantine Area still look green, but with one heavy rain, the soil may collapse on those slopes and they won't make it either and will probably topple. The whole experience of just driving through there was ugly and depressing.
Lifeis not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming,"Wow What a Ride!"
@outdoor_lover
Thank you, for taking your time to share your thoughts & observations. To MEeee, your thoughts/observations is real news, not political BS.
We've done the drive twice and not since any rain, but boy howdy the ash devils are surreal! Going up last week there were 5 just before the Four Peaks turnoff and it looked like something from another planet.
Driving back from the Rim this afternoon, I got caught in a heavy downpour with large hail starting from Mt Ord through a good portion of the burn area. It was raining too hard to see if there was any flooding in the burn, but the beeline was running strong in spots.
Temps got down to 68, and then quickly up to 112
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry
I have made weekly trips to the valley post Bush Fire and have noted water seeps along Mesquite Wash. In the past I would leave early enough to get a short night hike and have breakfast at first light but lately my appointments have been in the morning. Most of the roads on the East Side of 87 were still closed last week.
@Nighthiker
I've found that odd as well. At no point this spring or summer (pre- or post-fire) have I seen Mesquite Wash dry. It has been running at some level each time I've driven by since tropical moisture caused a nice flood last fall.
I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, ankle-twisting, HAZmaster crushing ROCKS!!
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, shin-stabbing, skin-shredding plants!
Hike Arizona it is full of striking, biting, stabbing, venomous wildlife!
Beginning tomorrow, 10/9, a reduced closure area in the Bush fire scar will open the eastern side of the range including El Oso Road and FR 648 to Lone Pine Saddle.
Pigeon and Oak Flat trails make up the closure boundary, along with the wilderness boundary, meaning that the AZT betweeen Roosevelt Lake and Pigeon Spring remains impassable. The Browns Peak trail also remains closed.
The forest order does not appear to be on their website yet, but I'll attach it here, along with the map.
Attachments
I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.
@Jim_H - I don't have high hopes for the Finger Rock trail this year. Saw that area explode while I was making a beer run over the summer. Went into Total Wine over at Tucson Mall, looked up and noticed Finger Rock canyon was smoking. Came out 15 minutes later and saw a huge wall of flames and thick smoke. It's like someone dropped a bomb into the canyon.
Due to the pending rain over the next few days, the original Bush Fire closure area has been reinstated. This is from the Tonto NF facebook page:
#TontoNF officials are reinstating the original Bush Fire area closure area to protect the public from an incoming weather system that has the potential for flash flooding over the weekend. This expanded area public safety closure will be in effect Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020 at noon.
While forest officials are set to implement the closure at noon, visitors are advised that they may need to vacate the closure area earlier if weather conditions warrant. A post-fire flash flooding event has the potential to cause significant injury or death. The purpose of this closure order is to protect public health and safety. This order shall remain in effect until March 15, 2021, or until rescinded, whichever occurs first.
Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there
I uploaded a [ photoset ] & a [ triplog ] to Brown’s Peak. It’s bad. Real bad. I didn’t hike because I wasn’t going to disobey the current closure of the forest land, but from where I can see, very little vegetation exists at all. Regrowth of manzanita is occurring, but very little pockets of ponderosa left.
Route Editor
Route Scout
