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Oak fire, around China Peak, at about 800+ acres. I was told a long time ago by a guy who used to manage the air tankers for the western US that the management plan was to let it burn. This was a lightning start. Probably will not suppress it unless it gets into some rancher land in the foothills. Sad, but fire is a part of the ecosystem so will wait to see what this brings, something positive I hope.

There's going to be a lot of fire this summer. Hard to believe fireworks are legal in this state, given the severe conditions ...

While there's another 2-3 weeks before monsoon moisture eases things, I personally think it has been a very mild fire season. Acreage wise, if you take out the big fire on the San Carlos that they let burn on purpose, it's been one of the least active fire seasons I can remember. So far...

chumley wrote:While there's another 2-3 weeks before monsoon moisture eases things, I personally think it has been a very mild fire season. Acreage wise, if you take out the big fire on the San Carlos that they let burn on purpose, it's been one of the least active fire seasons I can remember. So far...

Agreed, Todd. Aggressive campfire restrictions beginning in April was a factor, I think, but I wonder what else? Surely the general population can't be getting any less stupid, can they?

A lot are human caused but some are natural. My heartbreak - Willow - was natural.

@chumley
You think that maybe the Gazillion Signs that are up this Year may have actually had something to do with it??? I can't see how anybody could not have a Clue....

Outdoor Lover wrote:I can't see how anybody could not have a Clue....

Tell that to the idiot(s) who started the Slide fire... Why on EARTH would anyone need a fire in the middle of the day just north of Slide Rock? To cook their friggin' hot dogs?
That being said, who knows what caused the Slide Fire, it seems odd that we haven't heard about any conclusions regarding the cause?

@paulhubbard
I'm willing to bet that the Slide Fire was causing by somebody smoking. Either a cigarette, or something else. Seems way more likely than a campfire given the location...

Signs or not, stupid people, or people who make calculated decisions to burn despite the ban ... I think that the fire danger has been overstated this year.

Perhaps that's the way it should be every year if it helps prevent catastrophic fires.

But quite simply, it hasn't been as dry as advertised. When a fire can start near Woods Canyon Lake and be contained in a couple of days, it is clear that conditions are not that bad. That area is primed to torch. A fire in Sandy's Canyon was suppressed quickly. Even the Slide fire was quite small ... its proximity to high-value real estate made it a news story, but it wasn't a large or devastating fire by any normal comparison.

It might be that we have dodged the bullets of low humidity and high winds with the fires we've had so far? Wallow was unstoppable because of high winds. Rodeo-Chediski was unstoppable because of unprecedented dry fuels. This year, everything seems to have been reasonably controllable. Let's hope that trend continues. There are several more weeks of the hottest and driest conditions we will see yet. It helps that there are no major fires burning which frees up resources to quickly suppress anything that does start.

I hope it stays that way.

The fire danger is probably not over stated this year, as fuel loads of fine fuels are up from a wet summer last year, and by this time the fuels are very dry. I don't know what live fuels are like, but with the dry winter, they are dry too. Mostly, temps seem low, and it doesn't seem windy. Eventually, you just have fewer places to burn.

When the newsies put up the drought maps the Galiuros are in the "extreme drought" zone. Since Jan measurable moisture in Tuscon is .61, where I am we have not had more than a sprinkle since Dec of 13. Southern az is pretty dry I would say. Since it is an 'upside down" range the fire could help clear some manzanita and brush. The big pine trees are down in the drainages, so hopefully the riparian canopy will escape most of it, depending on the fire behavior.

@paulhubbard Plus, hot dogs can be eaten cold. (I ate a lot of wierd things when I was a kid ...)

kingsnake wrote:hot dogs can be eaten cold.

:yuck: ut:

I am much too curious--gonna get up early and head up and try to drive in at Deer Creek TH and see what I can see, maybe hike in a bit before it's too roasting. No closures are posted yet, so will see if I am able to get close.

I'll stay tuned. I haven't seen enough of the western side yet.

Let us know what you find. Stay safe!

I was in Aravaipa yesterday and this morning, and did not see smoke anywhere. I talked to a couple of TNC guys who had no idea there was a fire, and had not seen smoke either. So, while 2600+ acres is pretty healthy, it was not very noticeable ...

If it's a healthy, low slow fire maybe there wouldn't be a bunch of smoke?

From Mt Lemmon today the fire looks to have taken off. Huge smoke plume from a wide base. Plume is changing size and shape rapidly which suggests to this lay person lots of heat. I suspect it is burning more than brush and grass now.