Show Low - Cedar Creek Fire

[hikeaz]

SHOW LOW, AZ - A new brush fire has sparked in northern Arizona, forcing the closure of US 60 and sending ash out over the Show Low area.
A spokesman with the Navajo County Sheriff's Office said the Cedar Creek Fire was last estimated at around 1,000 acres, but strong winds in the area have likely caused it to grow.

Officials said both directions of US 60 have been shut down from mile post 318 to 337 (basically between SR 73 to SR 260).

Perimeter http://hikearizona.com/map.php?MY=21320&M=3

[chumley]

Up to 2,500 acres with pre-evacuation notices for Show Low, Pinetop, Hon Dah, etc.

White Mountain Independent:
http://www.wmicentral.com/officials-be- ... dcd8f.html

Northeast Arizona Public Information System:
http://311info.net/

[azbackpackr]

Reminds me of the Rodeo Fire, which was in that area. It blew up really fast, though.

[cactuscat]

The main reason that Fool Hollow was not my first choice of State Parks to work at was because I didn't want to live in such a high forest-fire risk area. Scary stuff.

[FOTG]

Just drove through Show Low, seems to be business as usual, no extra traffic, no crazy lines at pumps. I spoke with a guy who had been evacuated and he says he is not worried...Wind is very bad, God help those fire fighters...

igallery/image_page.php?id=5200

igallery/image_page.php?id=5201


@cactuscat

You chose Roper Pond State Park over the Show Low area?

[cactuscat]

@friendofThundergod
Yep, and it was 100% the best place for me ... probably the only place I would leave Roper Lake for is Grand Canyon.

[FOTG]

@cactuscat I was just teasing anyways lol...Between Graham and Bonita Creek, I love that area, just not a big campground guy and had to stay at Roper one weekend...lol

[Nighthiker]

Not good.

[rwstorm]

Hope for the best. I remember going through the Forestdale area as a 12 year old in 1960 with a fire burning along the highway.

[SkyIslandHiker]

I watched the smoke plume explode yesterday from our cabin on the south side of Show Low. By mid-afternoon ashes were falling on our community like snow flurries. With US60/AZ77 closed I had to depart the area (back to Tucson) via White River on AZ73. I don't like the looks of this one. Update: Now 5,500 acres burning.

[flagscott]

A question for those in the know: has their been any thinning of the forests around Show Low or the other towns over there? Here in Flagstaff, they've done a bunch of thinning right around town. That doesn't guarantee that we will be safe if a big fire happens with the right weather conditions, but it probably helps. But I don't know anything about what's happening further east.

For those who enjoy Forest Service-related conspiracy theories, I have noticed that they are doing a lot of thinning in areas far from any towns or cities. Meanwhile, there are still areas right near Flagstaff (and I'm sure near other towns) yet to be thinned. I sometimes wonder if there is any big-picture planning in how they allocate the limited funding they have for these sorts of projects.

[chumley]

@flagscott
I don't live up there, so I'm sure those with homes in the area will know better, but I know just from passing through that in the years after Rodeo-Chediski, there were massive thinning projects visible along the 260 corridor from Pinetop CC to Hondah and McNary.

If you view the area on satellite, you can actually see the reservation boundary visibly just from the forest density. The reservation has been thinned from the boundary down 1-2 miles to Corduroy Creek (it appears). I only personally saw the thinning going on adjacent to the south side of Hwy 260. http://hikearizona.com/map.php?QX=5431

@azbackpackr might know more as I think she still lived out there at the time?

[JoelHazelton]

Already 8,000 acres!? http://m.tucsonnewsnow.com/tusconnewsno ... d=vXZfakuu

[Sredfield]

Shouldn't this be in Inciweb? or am I just missing it?

[chumley]

@Sredfield
It only started at noon yesterday. It's possible they haven't gotten it posted yet.

[SkyIslandHiker]

@Sredfield
They just put it up:
http://inciweb.nwcg.go...

[hikeaz]

A question for those in the know: has their been any thinning of the forests around Show Low or the other towns over there? Here in Flagstaff, they've done a bunch of thinning right around town. That doesn't guarantee that we will be safe if a big fire happens with the right weather conditions, but it probably helps. But I don't know anything about what's happening further east.

For those who enjoy Forest Service-related conspiracy theories, I have noticed that they are doing a lot of thinning in areas far from any towns or cities. Meanwhile, there are still areas right near Flagstaff (and I'm sure near other towns) yet to be thinned. I sometimes wonder if there is any big-picture planning in how they allocate the limited funding they have for these sorts of projects.

I have been all OVER the WM Apache Rez and the Apache are doing (IMO) a superb job on maintaining a healthy forest. I just love camping and hiking there.

[Sredfield]

@flagscott

I sometimes wonder if there is any big-picture planning in how they allocate the limited funding they have for these sorts of projects.

I've had that thought myself, as we attended the "Firewise" presentation in Pine recently. If you had the cost of a major fire to spend on prevention, how would you decide to allocate it? How do you get the most bang for that many bucks? Do you spread a little all over, or pick major projects (4FRI) to fund?

This sounds like something for a whole room full of 'ologists, and maybe some disciplines one wouldn't expect, like maybe economists, mathematicians and ??? to tackle.

What would be the determinants? Forest conditions, local weather patterns over the last X years, community support and awareness, resources at risk, can't leave out politics, what else?

I think this question could fund a department or two for a couple years at a land grant university, maybe NAU?

[azbackpackr]

Yes, after the Rodeo fire (2002) and again after the Kinishba fire (2003) the WMAT thinned a lot. The thinning they had done was credited with saving Pinetop during the Kinishba fire. I'm not at all surprised that you can see it from Google Earth. There has been a lot of thinning done up Big Lake Highway from Eagar to Big Lake, also. Since I no longer live there I don't know what's been done since. So much private property was also never thinned, and that's a real problem.

[joebartels]

perimeter map http://hikearizona.com/map.php?MY=21320&M=3