Here we go with the Huachucas-- per msnbc online
"LUNA, N.M. — More areas near a southern Arizona city were evacuated on Wednesday after a fire there torched 40 homes overnight and moved towards heavier populated neighborhoods. The blaze heading towards Sierra Vista was much smaller than Arizona's massive Wallow fire but has already surpassed it in terms of property destroyed. "
I imagine the base will be aggressive in assisting in this matter. Sadly several cavers I know are all excited about ridgewalking since the fire will burn off the foliage.
An awful lot of this stuff has needed a burn for a long time. Miller Peak burned over about 20 years ago. Mt. Lemmon is better since the burn, I think. But it does take time for the areas to have some significant regrowth.
Latest news from the front in Springerville is that a lot of the fire is on the ground, a lot of trees have been left alive. I can't wait to go look. Already sneaked a peek at South Fork. White Mtns. has a significant over-population of elk, so aspen re-growth may be a problem, since they will eat all of it.
There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.
When I hiked Miller Peak last summer, we started by going over Carr Peak first from the Ramsey Canyon road. That whole area burned in 1977 and 1991, according to the USFS, and it was noticeable. Sunny and warm even at that altitude. The aspen groves higher up on Carr Peak were nice, though, and showed a hint of what this current burn area will look like in a few years (at least around Miller Peak itself). We didn't hit the dense conifer forest until the Crest Trail. I remember how dense the fuel load seemed and thinking how a little thinning would be wise...
If it is as windy today down there as it is up here in Flag, that is going to really pump it up a lot. The forecast for the Wallow Fire this morning is also pretty dire.
There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.
Monument fire seems to be heading back eastward of highway 92. Since it seems to have gone up from Ash Canyon and atop Millers Peak and down, I wonder if it has burned up some of the trash up on the trails the drug runners and illegals use to access the States. Just a thought.
Don't think it has torched the campgrounds yet. If they can save those and some of the unique homes and the Mesquite Tree Restaurant below, I'll be a tad happier. Miller on the other hand must be a total disaster area (wonder how the Beatty Place fared?). Ash Canyon is now fully living up to its name (though pretty sure it was named for a tree). If the fire gets down into Ramsey Canyon it will be truly sad.
Such a bummer...that area was just starting to recover. It will again, but that will take time. Hoping for the best for everyone's homes and businesses
If you zoom in on that map the fire in the flats covers some streets with quite a few homes on them. I find it strange that the media reports property destroyed but numbers "unknown"; Inciweb doesn't even mention structures destroyed. I am willing to bet it is substantial.
On a more personal note Brian has a close friend with a family ranch on the Blue---he says the southern edge of the Wallow fire is about a mile from them. Three main homes and countless corrals and outbuildings. Brian is thinking about heading that way to help out as he can. Say a prayer for everyone involved in these fires.
AZCentral reporting 14 additional homes lost and intense fire in Ramsey Canyon:
Authorities disclosed late Monday afternoon that the fire - whipped by heavy wind gusts and bone-dry conditions - burned 14 houses and four businesses Sunday. That brought to a total of roughly 60 homes, four businesses and 14 sheds and other out-buildings the fire has damaged or destroyed since it began June 12.
The greatest concentration is in Ramsey Canyon, where the fire has been burning most intensely.
chumley wrote:The greatest concentration is in Ramsey Canyon, where the fire has been burning most intensely.
This has to erroneous, since the fire maps show it hasn't reached there yet. Not only that but if the Folklore Center and Nature Conservancy properties were torched it would be big time news.
It must be near there because the report direct from Inciweb talks about it:
Structure protection will continue around the perimeter of the fire especially in Carr and Ramsey Canyon. Mop-up continues along the fire flanks of the fire and complicated indirect firefighting activities planned for the head of the fire. The Ramsey Canyon area is the most difficult piece of terrain many firefighters have ever seen.
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