March 30, 2009 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.
The beauty of the Sonoran
Desert after a wet spring is fabulous. The winter has been witness to
quite a bit of precipitation. This tremendous growth of weeds presents a
great fire danger for the late spring and summer months. A lot of the
dead, older growth provides fuel for the slightest spark whether
accidental or natural. A dry desert is often marred with dangerous
wildfires in the late spring and the early summer months prior to the
monsoons.
The fire danger increases as late spring
and early summer temperatures increase. The wildfire season has
increased dramatically as more and more people move to the arid deserts
of the American Southwest. Many of these new residents don’t realize the
extreme danger of a dry desert under the extreme high temperatures of
summer. This desert tinder can be as volatile as gasoline.
Most wildfires result from one of two
things; lightning or human carelessness. Lightning usually occurs during
the July monsoons, and most fires prior to the monsoons are human
caused. It is usually a carelessly tossed cigarette or an abandoned
campfire that causes these fires, and could cost you your home and your
life.
As we move into summer, families are
beginning their summer vacations and outdoor activities. These
activities include backyard cookouts, camping, and other activities. Any
of these enjoyable activities can lead to disaster if we are careless
with fire.
I have witnessed many major wildfires in
our area during the past 55 years. The first real wildfire I recall
occurred in July, 1949. This fire raged out of control east of Reavis
Ranch for several days before it was brought under control. Another wild
fire broke out west of Roosevelt Lake in the Pinyon Mountain area in
1959, and burned several thousand acres of the Tonto
National Forest before it was contained. Lightning caused those fires.
A fire broke out south of the Reavis
Ranch in 1966, destroying much of the Ponderosa pine forest in the area.
This fire was known as the Iron Mountain burn and was attributed to a
campfire. The forest service planted drought resistant grasses in the
area to prevent soil erosion. This grass has become the climax
vegetation in the area today.
A large wildfire raged through Needle
Canyon in 1969 destroying several thousand acres of desert landscape. An
abandoned campfire was the likely cause of this fire, which eventually
burned itself out because of the inaccessibility to the area.
I witnessed and photographed one of the
most dramatic wildfires on the slopes of Superstition Mountain in July
of 1979. This fire raged across the slopes of Superstition Mountain with
a fifty foot wall of flame engulfing everything in its path. This fire
was caused when a high wind blew over a charcoal grill in somebody’s
yard near the base of the mountain. One careless neighbor endangered
hundreds of lives and millions of dollars of property as the fire spread
over the mountain within an hour. The smoke was so thick Superstition
Mountain could not be seen from State Route 88 (Apache Trail). If it had
not been for slurry bombers many homes would have been lost in this
fire and lives could have hung in the balance.
On July 4, 1983, another major fire
raged on the eastern side of Superstition Mountain destroying several
thousand acres. This fire eventually burned its self out. Needle Canyon
was struck with another wildfire in March of 1984. This fire burned up
the northeastern side of Bluff Springs Mountain and eventually also
burned itself out. Abandoned campfires most likely caused these fires.
There was a large wildfire in the area
of the Massacre Grounds and along the northwestern slopes of
Superstition Mountain in April of 1984. This fire was contained and in
some areas burned its self out. Several other man-made fires occurred in
the wilderness or around Superstition Mountain between 1984 and1994.
The next big fire to strike the region
was the Geronimo blaze near the Gold Canyon development area. This fire
started around June 11, 1995 and was fought for three days. A hundred
and twenty fire- fighters eventually brought this blaze under control
before lives or property was lost. Twenty-three hundred acres were
destroyed by the fire and it threatened several homes near Gold Canyon.
This particular fire produced huge columns of smoke that could be seen
from Phoenix skyscrapers.
This past four or five years has been
quiet except for the Lone Fire on Four Peaks Mountain near the end of
April 1996. The Lone Fire destroyed almost sixty-two thousand acres of
the Tonto National Forest. o put this figure in perspective, this would
be almost one third of the Superstition Wilderness Area. This was one of
the most devastating fires on public land adjacent to the Superstition
Wilderness Area during the past twenty-five years. The Superstition
Wilderness experiences some kind of wild fire almost each summer. On
several occasions the wilderness has been closed to camping and hiking
during extreme during extreme fire conditions.
This historical accounting of wildfire
in our area gives you some idea of what a potential fire hazard the
desert can be between late April and mid July. Precipitation is often a
double-edged sword. Rain always brings relief to a dry desert region
reducing fire danger, but it always produced an abundant growth of brush
that can create more fuel and cause more fires. Precipitation also
causes severe erosion in areas that have been burned and denuded of
vegetation. This in turn destroys the watershed that is so crucial to
water conservation in an arid place like Arizona.
As the dry season approaches, the fire
danger will continue to escalate bringing dangerous conditions to our
desert. There is plenty of tinder and dead-fall to burn on the desert.
Once the high temperatures arrive and dry out the tinder it is extremely
volatile.
Your care with fire and open flames at
all times is extremely important and will protect us all. Smoking should
be confined to automobiles or buildings during extreme fire conditions.
Your caution with fire protects us all and the firefighters who fight
these desert fires.