"Wallow Fire" in Bear Wallow Wilderness

[azbackpackr]

Lots of activity in Springerville this morning, with the Prescott Hot Shots arriving at Safeway for a snack, and other buses full of firefighters seen on the highway heading for the "Wallow Fire" in Bear Wallow Wilderness Area, south of Hannagan. The smoke is not that visible, although my daughter was over at Hulsey yesterday and saw the smoke. I was up at Big Lake early this morning and could see only a haze of smoke south of there, not a big plume. I think winds too strong for it to plume up much. I'm back in Flag now, so I won't get the firsthand news any more.

Oh, and no campfires or charcoal grills allowed in the campgrounds since last night in Apache-Sitgreaves NF (Big Lake, Hannagan, etc.) I think stoves still allowed. Not sure about non-campgrounds.

Here's a news story on the Wallow Fire, but as of this writing it has not made it to inciweb yet. (Maybe tomorrow?)
( dead link removed )

Perimeter Map [ Wallow Fire Map 2011-06-27 :: map ]
Inciweb ( dead link removed )

[big_load]

People here have no concept of area. Greater NYC area isn't generally considered very large, it just takes a lifetime to drive across.

[kevinweitzel75]

My prayers go out to everyone affected and involved.

[SkyIslandHiker]

I also went to that kfyi thing. I saw that the headline said Greer was burning, but the article did not say that. I believe they wrote it and then took it out, for some reason or another. But forgot to remove the headline? It is very possible.

Perhaps just wishful thinking but I find it encouraging that the White Mountain Independent has not yet reported the Greer burn. Time will tell.

Bill

[azbackpackr]

People here have no concept of area. Greater NYC area isn't generally considered very large, it just takes a lifetime to drive across.

Well, that's what you get for driving across it. I'd take the subway. ;)

A lot of people don't have a concept of a large area. Take the Hawaiians, for example, from a previous forum thread.

I don't even have a concept of its size, and I can look at that map and picture most of the places named on it. Have hiked, biked and driven over an awful lot of that area.

My husband said a few minutes ago, "Glad we got to hike Open Draw one more time. It's in the middle of that map." We hiked it several weeks ago.

[SkyIslandHiker]

I also went to that kfyi thing. I saw that the headline said Greer was burning, but the article did not say that. I believe they wrote it and then took it out, for some reason or another. But forgot to remove the headline? It is very possible.

Perhaps just wishful thinking but I find it encouraging that the White Mountain Independent has not yet reported the Greer burn. Time will tell.

Bill

In fact, the WMI posted this at 7:33pm:

"UPDATE: There are no confirmed reports of handcrews having been pulled out of Greer at this time. There also has been no official word on any structures lost in the area. Please stay posted for official reports and infomation."

source: http://www.wmicentral.com/news/latest_n ... 002e0.html

Bill

[RickVincent]

This is purely a "Hearsay" report, but interesting because the story is consistent with the short blog entry I had posted from Scottsdale Arizona News. This originates from a family friend in the Alpine area who is closely involved in the action.

Two people are being held in connection with starting the fire. The story is that the men had left a fire burning in their camp. The men chained up their two dogs while they walked off to go fishing. The dogs were chained too close to the fire. While roaming around, the dogs chains dragged burning embers out of the fire ring.

Interesting to see if this develops or evolves. And, if true, I wonder about the reason for the silence.


Below is the passage from the blog posting that I shared on June 6.
(admin removed on request of blogger)

[PaleoRob]

I can look at that map and picture most of the places named on it. Have hiked, biked and driven over an awful lot of that area.

I was just thinking about how I was able to get out to Round Valley last summer. Glad I didn't put it off any longer.
Looking at the map is kinda tough. When I worked out of Alpine we combed the western slope of Escudilla, the Gobbler Peak area, a bunch of terrain out towards Big Lake. Lots of rough backcountry bushwhacking looking for for owls and Goshawks, but a beautiful area. I love the open grassland areas too - herds of pronghorn sprinting towards the horizon. Saw wolves west of Alpine near dusk in Williams Valley. Milk Creek. Noble Mountain. Roger's Reservoir - contoured all around the eastern side of the ridge from the reservoir looking for owls. Went to the top of Noble Mountain one time and then dropped down to the forest road coming up from the bottom on a Goshawk survey. very vertical country, but gorgeous forest. Up old logging roads by Hulsey Lake and Paddy Creek, into the Wilderness Area. I could go on and on.

[PaleoRob]

kpho.com now reporting, "Fire spokesman Jim Whittington says the flames are not in the towns." but that the fire did spot over the lines.

[PaleoRob]

http://www.inciweb.org/incident/article/2262/11653/

Fire has gone through Greer. We do not know the extent of the damage at this time. Firefighters are on scene in Greer conducting structure protection activities.

[SkyIslandHiker]

Some updates on Greer late this evening:

"WALLOW FIRE - Greer confirmed to have been compromised

UPDATE 06/08/2011, 10:00 p.m.: It has been confirmed that the Wallow Fire has made it's way through Greer. There is no confirmation of structures lost or the damage done at this time. There are no official reports as to the extent of the damage at this time. Firefighters are on scene in Greer conducting structure protection."

source: http://www.wmicentral.com/news/latest_n ... 002e0.html

****************************************

"Hi friends, ALL IS NOT LOST! Just got more details from Allan Johnson, co-owner of Molly Butler Lodge in Greer, Ariz…

About the fire in Greer today:

• Allan has an employee on the local Greer Fire Dept and is getting bits and pieces of info
•Lots of spot fires popped up throughout Greer today
•The Fire Dept/USFS was doing pre-burnouts on the East side of Greer but the fire broke through today
•The fire crews disengaged a few hours ago b/c the fire was running in really hot and fast and there's only one road in/out, but they reevaluated and went back in
•New reports say the plan is to keep stronger fire crews in Greer 24 hours for the next several days"

source: http://www.mollybutlerlodge.com/news
*****************************************

"FS Employee Update | 8 June 2011 @ 2109 hours

From a first hand view at 4pm no structures on the west side of the little colorado in Greer including Molly's was burned, this is from a FS employee that was there all day."

source: http://www.wesmcb.com/

[nonot]

SPRINGERVILLE, Ariz. -- In a late media briefing Wednesday night, fire officials scaled back the amount of acres they believe have burned in the Wallow Fire.
Fire officials would not give a new total number of acreage burned. They said that 236,000 acres have burned in the north zone of the fire. No estimate was released concerning the south zone, but both zones combined could total up to 350,000 acres burned.

I found this link to a camera somewhere near Greer:
http://weather.weatherbug.com/AZ/Greer- ... _animate=1

[nonot]

"Facebook posting from Matt Finch | 8 June
MattnLiz Finch – More bad news, fire has now made its way to Lesuer Dr./Amity Lane again. Not sure if it is a spot fire or the main wall, likely spotting according to the tanker I just talked to. Still, NO HOUSES LOST!!!! They have an engine at every house …directly in line, specifically for that house. They are doing great! They are now spreading fire retardent using the engines, coating everything in sight. They wanted to get a 400 foot wide boundary, but due to winds they said it is nor more than 50 ft wide in this area, fire is crowning and destroying everything, but they are saving the houses. They are very very concerned with the winds. Said when the big wall hits the retardent may not be very affective because of the winds. Fire is spotting now between razors and Haws Park, not sure where, the guy isn’t local and we had to use a map for him to show me. This wind is killing us. More bad news, they let my Uncle Brad come home from Circle K to shower. He said he has been getting all the info he can from the firefighters when they come in the store. Said he just talked to some tasked with mopping up the areas the fire has already hit up on top. They told him up by the big lake area, like Robbie was saying, is just sticks, and he said there are dead elk everywhere, some deer, but mostly elk, and he said they were everywhere. The firefighters, who were local, I believe one had the last name of Logan, said the mountain will never be recognizable in our lives, noone alive now who has never seen it will ever be able to look on its beauty in their lives. I keep hoping maybe they were in the worst part of the whole mountain and the parts they didn’t see are ok. I can only pray. More good news though, as of early this morning, like at 4 AM, the udall cabin is ok above Coon Canyon, said there was atleast 2 engines dedicated to it, not leaving. So far so good, they’re giving it hell anyways, doing the best they can."

[azbackpackr]

I found this link to a camera somewhere near Greer:
http://weather.weatherbug.com/AZ/Greer- ... _animate=1

That's not in Greer, though. Round Valley High School, in Eagar. I can see the Dome through the smoke, plus the label says Round Valley High School.

[azbackpackr]

"Facebook posting from Matt Finch | 8 June
MattnLiz Finch – More bad news, fire has now made its way to Lesuer Dr./Amity Lane again. Not sure if it is a spot fire or the main wall, likely spotting according to the tanker I just talked to. Still, NO HOUSES LOST!!!! They have an engine at every house …directly in line, specifically for that house. They are doing great! They are now spreading fire retardent using the engines, coating everything in sight. They wanted to get a 400 foot wide boundary, but due to winds they said it is nor more than 50 ft wide in this area, fire is crowning and destroying everything, but they are saving the houses. They are very very concerned with the winds. Said when the big wall hits the retardent may not be very affective because of the winds. Fire is spotting now between razors and Haws Park, not sure where, the guy isn’t local and we had to use a map for him to show me. This wind is killing us. More bad news, they let my Uncle Brad come home from Circle K to shower. He said he has been getting all the info he can from the firefighters when they come in the store. Said he just talked to some tasked with mopping up the areas the fire has already hit up on top. They told him up by the big lake area, like Robbie was saying, is just sticks, and he said there are dead elk everywhere, some deer, but mostly elk, and he said they were everywhere. The firefighters, who were local, I believe one had the last name of Logan, said the mountain will never be recognizable in our lives, noone alive now who has never seen it will ever be able to look on its beauty in their lives. I keep hoping maybe they were in the worst part of the whole mountain and the parts they didn’t see are ok. I can only pray. More good news though, as of early this morning, like at 4 AM, the udall cabin is ok above Coon Canyon, said there was atleast 2 engines dedicated to it, not leaving. So far so good, they’re giving it hell anyways, doing the best they can."

I actually know some of these people. "Uncle Brad" Finch used to be my boss. And the Finches who live on LeSueur, I know their mom--she was my co-worker for years. Very sad about the elk and the observation that it will never look the same to those of us who knew it.

Having been to Mt. Lemmon since the fire, I can say, yes, it will never look the same, but after 8 years, well, in a way I think the fire was an improvement. Better views. Lots of ferns and other things growing up. And, a lot of groves did not burn. Fires do usually tend to skip around.

[K9Shep]

Forgive my I have not read all posts. No time. Just wanted to let you guys know the information from people to us a the shelter sucks. U have more current info than we do. Current map shows a date of 5/7. My GSD is doing well connecting with the kids, well candy helps too. It is so rewarding knowing that I can make these people smile and take their mind off of the fire for even just 30 sec. I will be doing a obedience demonstration later today for kids and adults. Anyway people are getting up now times to work.

[chumley]

Modis from 2:55am this morning (6/9).

As an admittedly untrained viewer of Modis data, I see some encouraging signs on this. It appears that the entire northeastern flank of the fire has cooled, and is subsequently, hopefully, not as prone to extreme fire behavior. This aligns with last night's report that crews were beginning "mopping up" in some of those areas.

It also appears that the approach on Greer may not have been as hot as some reports have suggested. I say that cautiously, since it really only takes a random ember to destroy a structure, so it will be interesting to hear the report that comes back from Greer today.

Sounds like morning is the toughest time on the western flank of the fire. Last night's report indicated that the winds tended to push the fire north and even a bit northwest in the mornings before pushing back toward the northeast later in the day. So right now might be the critical time for Greer, Baldy Wilderness, and Reservation Lake (which appears to be severely threatened...)

With lower winds today and an unofficial "maybe 1-2% containment" as of yesterday, I'm hoping for some good news today.

[RickVincent]

I've been fooled several times by the MODIS maps into thinking that an area was starting to cool. It seems like the big changes occur from late morning to mid-day when the winds are picking up. That's when all those new fire "red spots" start popping up all over again.

[paulhubbard]

@K9Shep
Watching your interview on 3TV right now. Great spot, keep up the good work! I know people appreciate your efforts! Beautiful pooch too!

[Trishness]

Been listening to KTAR all morning. US Forest Service is supposed to give an update/news conference at 10 AM. It appears Greer was compromised and part of this conference will cover just how much destruction occured. Rumors are abound but I did hear that the two persons responsible for this fire have turned themselves in because their vehicles were also burned at the fire origin but this is NOT confirmed.

So sad

[Al_HikesAZ]

106.7 FM ITalk Radio posted this overlay to give an idea of the size of the fire
http://www.italk106.com/localnews-110531wallow.htm

They are saying the 747 Supertanker did not get allocated today. DC10s in use.