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| Hiking | 1.38 Miles |
185 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.38 Miles | | | |
| 185 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Remembering the Dude Fire and Lives Lost
I walked up Walk Moore Canyon, on this trail, on the 33rd anniversary of the Dude Fire fatalities. (June 26, 1990) I was headed to crosses that marked where six firefighters died. There was no one else on the trail. The weather was nice with a slight breeze, and the canyon is still green since we had a wet winter and below normal temperatures recently. That’s far, far different than the way it was 33 years ago.
On June 26, 1990, the temperature reached 122 degrees in Phoenix, which is still a record for the valley. It reached 106 in Payson that day. The land was parched and in desperate need of rain. To say that it was inhospitable conditions would be an understatement.
I tried to imagine how things were. Walk Moore Canyon was bustling as crews tried to build lines to protect the Bonita Creek subdivision and to ultimately subdue the Dude Fire. Amongst the crews was a group from Perryville Prison. They had arrived at Bonita Creek at 1 AM and by 2:30 AM they were at the junction of Walk Moore Canyon and Control Road. That was where I started my hike.
On that day, 33 years ago, the Perryville Crew worked with other crews for several hours to build line along a Jeep Trail in Walk Moore Canyon, before turning eastward and following power lines into Bonita Creek. All of this was clearly visible as I walked up the canyon and stated in the Staff Ride to the Dude Fire descriptions, which are available online.
Vegetation in and around the canyon has grown back thick. There are pine trees growing, but there is also a lot of manzanita and scrub oak that fills the canyon, along with Weeping Lovegrass. That grass was planted right after the Dude Fire to prevent erosion, as the summer monsoon season was coming quickly. There was a scramble to get enough seeds – after all, this was the largest fire in Arizona history at the time. Supposedly enough native seeds were not available. The lovegrass was chosen, and it turned out to be a major mistake. It has grown thick throughout the burn area and isn’t easily removed. Cattle do not like it. However, one does not have to look far to see efforts being made to thin the thick vegetation that has grown back. Less than a mile away two masticators have recently started thinning. It will make a huge difference.
The first cross that I came upon was that of James Ellis. He had deployed his shelter along with the others, when the wave of fire hit. He initially survived it, first walking down the canyon, then back up it where he met other survivors. Alas Ellis didn’t survive for much longer. As he was being escorted back to Control Road he said, “I’m dead”, laid down and placed his head on a log and died. The cross isn’t exactly where he died. They moved it out of the canyon bottom because of erosion concerns. Nevertheless, it’s a powerful spot.
I continued further up the canyon, knowing that it would be a little bit before I came to the deployment site. I passed underneath the powerline that the crew had worked so diligently around. Then I got closer and closer to where so many perished.
The crosses of where the five other crewmembers died is a particularly serene spot because of how green things are right now. Curtis Springfield, James Denney, Sandra Bachman, and Alex Contreras all perished near each other. Just past those crosses is a large metal box. It turns out that there are fire shelters inside of it. As per the instructions on the outside of the box, I looked but did not touch them.
The trail goes further into the canyon, and I hiked a little ways before turning around. It’s scenic, a far cry from the scene 33 years ago. Ultimately, the trail swings around the Bonita Creek subdivision near what is referenced as “the corner house”. According to the Dude Fire Staff Ride, “The corner house became a landmark and reference point during the fire. This location served as a meeting point for the numerous resources on this portion of the fire. It was a tactical focal point being at the head of Walk Moore Canyon and the portion of Bonita Creek Estates Subdivision closest to the fire.” Later, after I had completed my hike, I drove into Bonita Creek and found “the corner house”. While it played a huge role during the fire, I found that there wasn’t much to see from the road. I think that one would have to cross onto private property to get somewhat of a feel for it.
As I walked back down the canyon, I paused at the crosses of the fallen firefighters one last time, thanking them for their service.
It is easy to forget that there were survivors who sustained serious injuries that day. Multiple firefighters, including Geoff Hatch and Dave La Tour, suffered substantial burns that day. They had deployed their shelters just north of those who died. They may have survived but they were also permanently scarred in more ways than one. Other people who deployed their shelters in the group, but survived, were Donald Love, William Davenport, and Gregory Hoke.
I drove home through some of the Dude Fire burn. I traveled eastward on Control Road and eventually into an area that did not burn. I turned on another road that took me back into the burn and home. I live less than a ¼ mile from the Dude Fire burn. The fire was and still is a big deal to me. I was 10 years old when it happened, and today I live in the place that my family had then.
There is a lot more that I could say here about the fire. A lot of people deserve mention but there is a practical limitation in this space. There is a lot of other information out the fire. The Dude Fire Staff Ride (https://www.nwcg.gov/wfldp/toolbox/staf ... /dude-fire) information online is terrific, probably the most comprehensive place of information. I wrote about the Dude Fire in my book Zane Grey’s Forgotten Ranch: Tales from the Boles Homestead. I had neighbors who raced the fire out around midnight that night. Somehow, they survived. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. |
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