HikeArizona.COM

It's officially started. This area just can't seem to catch a break and stupid people are determined to take down what hasn't burned already. Quoted from Tonto NF's FB Page.

"WILDFIRE ALERT: The Whitlow Fire is burning in the Hewitt Station area north of Hwy 60. The fire is reported at approximately 50 acres, burning in grass and brush. 2 engines, 1 crew, and 3 aircraft units are on scene. Additional resources are responding. The fire is currently under investigation. Please avoid the Hewitt Station area to allow firefighters to safely access the incident and work towards containment. Updates will be posted throughout the day. Fire season is here, and everyone needs to be extremely careful with all risks of wildfire ignition. "

There are some very neat areas on Arizona State Trust Lands to visit.

Is the moisture content of the fuels substantially higher across the Mogollon Rim than other parts of the state? Or are we just lucky that there hasn't been a noteworthy fire from Williams to Alpine (yet).

With the exception of Mangum on the Kaibab Pleateau, it seems that the biggest fires of the year thus far have started at lower elevations, burning through grass and desert shrubs before expanding into woodlands at higher elevations.

Note that the Rodeo-Chediski fire started on June 18, and the Willow Fire which burned the Mazatzals ignited on June 24. So we're nowhere near done with the 2020 fire season yet.

Three main factors, tempeture, humidity and stupidity.

It was a pretty wet winter, so fuels might have more moisture in them up higher, but down low the grasses that grew are long since dried out in the earlier than normal 100+ degree temps that began in late April. There have been a bunch of fires all around the valley, and the Bighorn, that wouldn't have happened at all aside from the exotic grasses.


Drive up I-17 and whatever the name of the mesa where the sunset point toilet facilities is located on, it burned a few weeks back. The gold grass that remains on the other side is the exotic oat.

I drove down from Prescott yesterday and that Perry Mesa/Sunset Point area is a blackened mess on the east side of I-17. Some places, as far as the eye can see. They got lucky in that it hit the Median in places, but never made it to the west side of the road. There have been several fires up there in recent years, but this is by far the largest burn area I've seen there in a few years for sure.

Has anyone heard about another fire in the Rio Verde or Needle Rock areas? I saw a plume of smoke today while I was on the 202 and it didn't look like it could possibly be from the Bush Fire. Seemed too far west. I took a really lousy phone shot thru the dirty windshield. Just left of the 1st lightpole in the photo, that's not a cloud.

@outdoor_lover
If I'm not mistaken, that's Mt. Ord directly under the plume of smoke in your photo.

@ShatteredArm
Boulder Mountain is in the center so yes, it is likely the Mount Ord, Reno Pass area.

There is a Fire along NB I-17 between the Dugas Exit and the Hill before descending into Camp Verde. Check my I-17 Closure Post for additional details. Looked fairly big and was burning from the Highway to quite a bit to the east.

@outdoor_lover Hance Fire and looks to be a prescribed burn according to the Prescott National Forest Facebook page.

Someone else will probably start an entire thread for it, but the Pine fire on Pine Mountain near the Verde Rim is conspiring to ruin everywhere I want to hike, this year.

Coming down I-17 yesterday the prescribed burn appears to have overdosed.

@Alston_Neal
I was thinking that too. If that was a Prescribed burn, it got away from them. And I've never seen them do a Prescribed Burn next to a Highway like that especially without warnings being up in the morning. There was nothing mentioned anywhere on the drive up yesterday morning.

@outdoor_lover
We saw very large mature juniper trees turn into torches. My friggin camera was in the back pack!

@Alston_Neal
PNF reports this morning that it's all done. Posted pictures that seem to indicate it went as planned. #healthyforest
https://twitter.com/PrescottNF/status/1 ... 8866451456

I have since read that the Pine fire started Sunday or was first noticed Sunday, and only burned a very small amount of acreage. I saw the smoke from it and drove through the odor of it Tuesday when I went from highway 87 to camp Verde.

@Jim_H
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/prescott ... EPRD766795
It was tweet updated to 200 acres yesterday.

@chumley
I got to hike up there once at least.

No Impact on I-17. Tell that to the extensive line of motorists trying to go north yesterday afternoon.

New fire in Aravaipa's Horse Camp Canyon ... let's hope it was stopped quickly - all I have is this crappy local news source.
https://gilaherald.com/mother-nature-he ... -aravaipa/