HikeArizona.COM

Rebooting for the 2012 Fire season. Here comes the smoke, and we now what that means.












I must be blowing it?

Is there a link for that? I would like to read up on it. Last year, I don't remember it being so windy until May, and then it was horrendous. It could also just be that May was when I got tired of it, as it usually starts in March there. Memorial Day Weekend, when the Wallow exploded, was one of, if not thee worst wind period I recall in Flagstaff. Being one of the last events I endured obviously helps make it memorable as well, as does the fire starting then, but the wind gusts in the 70s and sustained wind in the 50s and 60s(?) was the big feature. Either way, not having high wind ( and the dust which I have realized is far, far worse) in May, and hopefully much into April, would be great. I'd like some rain, or the low desert to get it (just not on a trip down there), but this is the dry season and an La Nina. I really just don't want snow, and don't want it below 8500', though that is largely due to me wanting BM to melt out. I would prefer the snow stay above 9300', so Elden will melt out, but I guess with the altitude, that is just wishful thinking for late winter/early spring.

Since it's May and the winter type storms are probably over until October, it's more or less fire season. Hardly any activity this year, but with some dry lightning forecast for the next couple of days, there might be some natural fires. The Gila can always use a good burn.

There are some lightning fires in Mogollon mountains of the Gila NF, and they are more receptive to fire. With any luck, over the coming weeks the NF may host this as one complex and fire may be "allowed" to penetrate the central wilderness area, in to the core around McKenna Park, and perhaps over to Woodland Park, but I suspect I may be a little too optimistic.

Whitewater one has closed some popular trails. I plan my return to the Gila once the monsoons are cranking.

Dry, hot and windy here near Springerville, but no fires. We are tired of fires here. I could happily wait a year before seeing any major burns in the Springerville or Alpine Ranger Districts. Hopefully the FS will get some more of the thinning and prescribed burns happening over the next year.

@azbackpackr Welcome back!

Outdoor Lover wrote:@azbackpackr Welcome back!

Hey, thanks! Back in the ol' cowtown!

Hot? Ha! I thought you were in central America?

Nah. I arrived at Sky Harbor last Friday the 11th. Got the opportunity to meet our own Te-wa and his fair family, since my daughter and I camped at his place for the night before heading up here to Eagar. (Thanks again, Mike!)

The weather here this week has been fantastic, other than the one day of bad winds. In the high 70's and gorgeous.

Looks like New Mexico is burning too....

Yeah, I posted that a little while ago. It's exciting, too, as that area needs fire, and being a lightning fire, the FS is more likely to let a fire like these two grown in a wilderness. It can't actually be what the name claims if you exclude wild forces that acted on these ecosystems for millions of years. I really want to see the Baldy make progress to the east, and I hope it penetrates the Ponderosa Pine, of the central Gila Wilderness, pretty deeply.

Jim_H wrote:Yeah, I posted that a little while ago. It's exciting, too, as that area needs fire, and being a lightning fire, the FS is more likely to let a fire like these two grown in a wilderness. It can't actually be what the name claims if you exclude wild forces that acted on these ecosystems for millions of years. I really want to see the Baldy make progress to the east, and I hope it penetrates the Ponderosa Pine, of the central Gila Wilderness, pretty deeply.

Things are getting hairy over there now with the Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire and it's bad that homes are burned, but Jim's right - fire is part of the package with wilderness. Wilderness areas are wondrous, beautiful, and sometimes extremely dangerous places.

Also, with this fire, much of the area had a significantly higher fire return frequency. Even in areas that seem relatively well burned today, there are more trees and higher fuel loads than there would have been 150 years ago. In 1800, if the same event had occurred, the overall fire damage would have been less severe, simply due to there being a lower density of tree canopy.

Bummer. I was hoping to make Whitewater Baldy my backup trip for fall color aspens now that Escudilla is toast. Where to go in October for plan C?

As expected this morning, the smoke from the Whitewater Fire has now moved into SE Arizona and is right now starting to blanket the upper Pinalenos.

Now Baboquivari is getting cooked.

The 90% containment figure seems to indicate they've got it fully under control.

I should really start paying attention.

Rick Vincent wrote:Bummer. I was hoping to make Whitewater Baldy my backup trip for fall color aspens now that Escudilla is toast. Where to go in October for plan C?

There are still a lot of aspens on Escudilla. And on down by Hannagan, there are a lot of them, too. And around Greer and Mt. Baldy there are quite a few.

Very large brush fire started this afternoon in/near Queen Valley. Initial very large plume of smoke looked liked it may have been a structure fire then dense white smoke that I could tell was spreading very fast and the smoke plume is drifting north towards the Superstitions.