Bighorn Fire

[SpiderLegs]

Pulled out of my driveway and noticed the orange glow in the pre-dawn hour coming from Pusch Ridge. Then drove down the block and noticed the same glow coming from the Tortolita's.

The fire in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness is below Bighorn Peak and doesn't appear to be hitting Pusch Peak or the Cleaver yet. Luckily it's not windy this morning or we could have a huge mess on our hands.

Over in the Tortolita's as best as I can figure it looks like the fire is at the very end of the Wild Burro trail near where it intersects with the Ridgeline trail.

Last news report I saw was that the Pusch Ridge fire is being monitored and can't be accessed due to the terrain. Our local fire crews are all over in the Tortolita's working on it.

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2020-06-29 Changed Subject from Two Fires In NW Tucson to Bighorn Fire since the other was contained long ago and did not affect hiking much if any.

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6741/

[chumley]

@friendofThundergod

[RedRoxx44]

Nanny state in local action.

[SpiderLegs]

Well that was a waste of time trying to get around the paywall to read the story. Trails closed, nobody pays attention pretty much sums it up.

[andrewp]

Coronado updated the order again today:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO ... 910411.pdf

Also an updated map:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO ... 910412.pdf

As far as I can tell the only change is that Red Ridge and Catalina Camp trails are now open.

At this rate the Mt Lemmon and Lemmon Rock trails should re-open shortly before the next devastating fire rips through the area...

[andrewp]

The closure expired yesterday and, so far, Coronado hasn't extended it. I guess that the mountain is now completely open... have at it!!

[SpiderLegs]

The closure expired yesterday and, so far, Coronado hasn't extended it. I guess that the mountain is now completely open... have at it!!

I've already seen pics of Romero Pools from yesterday online. But now various user groups are begging people to stay off some of the trails until volunteers can fix them.

[chumley]

Coronado NF has revised the Bighorn Fire Closure Order. Not that they or anybody else was paying any attention to it anyway.
Official Order: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO ... 980795.pdf
Official Map: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO ... 980796.pdf
In effect until 3/1/22

Santa Catalina Ranger District Bighorn Closure Order Update:
Trails that were fully or partially closed and are NOW OPEN:
Upper Green Mountain Trail # 21
Butterfly Trail # 16
Brush Corral Shortcut # 21A
Ventana Trail # 98
Pontatoc Trail # 410
This trail was partially closed, now the opening is extended: Finger Rock Trail # 42 (Extended opening to the Mt. Kimble Junction).
You can view the updated order and map by visiting https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/coronado/alerts-notices

It's almost as if whoever works there has no idea what or where Mt. Kimball is.

[DixieFlyer]

It's almost as if whoever works there has no idea what or where Mt. Kimball is.

3-4 years ago I called the Coronado main office to inquire as to whether or not the spur trail going up to Kimball was a designated trail exempt from the Bighorn Sheep seasonal closure. The person that I was talking to did not know where Mt. Kimball was.

[DixieFlyer]

@chumley
It looks like the 400 foot buffer has been reinstated for 2022. Be sure to put a tape measure in your backpack!

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO ... 962098.pdf

[AZHiker456]

@DixieFlyer
Reminds me of the time I called, (and spent a good amount of time on hold to apparently get transferred to the correct person) just prior to a trip to the Pinalenos. I'd heard all kinds of things about Mt. Graham being off-limits due to protecting the habitat of the Mount Graham red squirrel... but I'd also heard of hikers obtaining special permission from time to time and wanted to get the low down.

No joke or exaggeration: I was told that it was COMPLETELY FINE for me to hike up to the top of Mt. Graham, no special permission needed. I couldn't believe my ears and repeated the question about three different times (at one point saying something to the effect of 'are you sure... I know it's been off-limits for a very long time due to protecting the habitat of that species of red squirrel'); to which the woman I was speaking with claimed it was never off limits...

Not wanting drama, I opted not to try to take advantage of the situation and had a peak bagging blast outside of the off-limit zone. Some time later, I'd called the CNF about something else and while I was at it, asked for clarification about hiking Mt. Graham (reiterating how the prior conversation went down). That person sounded horrified to say the least...

[DixieFlyer]

@AZHiker456
I often do not get good information when calling some of the national forests...otoh, I've generally had good results when calling some of the BLM offices

[Sredfield]

I find some agencies put the new person on the front desk, then transfer the calls to them. They haven't been around long enough to know where the bathrooms are, let alone what's going on out on the land. We had lots of misinformation from the BLM AZ Strip District about a closure recently, finally got through to a manager to get the official info.