April 18, 2011 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.
The
beauty of the Sonoran Desert after a wet spring is fabulous. The past
winter has been witness to a little less precipitation, but there will
always be weed growth that will present a great fire danger for the late
spring and early summer.
Once the temperatures get
above 100 the desert becomes a fire threat. A lot of the dead older
growth provides fuel for the slightest spark whether accidental or
natural, and a dry desert is often marred with dangerous wildfires in
the late spring and the early summer months prior to the monsoons.
The wild fire 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
two things. One is lightning and the other is human carelessness.
Lightning strikes usually occur during the July monsoons, and most fires
prior to the monsoons are usually human caused. It is usually a
carelessly tossed cigarette or an abandoned campfire that causes these
fires. A carelessly tossed cigarette 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 outdoor
activities. Any of these enjoyable activities can lead to disaster if we
are careless with fire.
I have witnessed many major
wild fires in our area during the past fifty-five years. The first real
wild fire I recall occurred in July of 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 these
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 wild fire raged through
Needle Canyon in 1969 destroying several thousand acres of desert
landscape. An abandoned campfire was the likely cause of this wild fire.
This fire eventually burned itself out because of the inaccessibility
to the area.
I witnessed and photographed
one of the most dramatic wild fires on the slopes of Superstition
Mountain in July of 1979. This fire raged across the slopes of
Superstition Mountain with a fiftyfoot 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
worth 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). The glow of the fire after dark could be
seen from Phoenix. 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 firefighters 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.
The past few years have been
quiet except for the Lone fire on Four Peaks near the end of April 1996.
The Lone fire destroyed almost sixty-two thousand acres of the Tonto
National Forest. To put this figure in perspective, this would be almost
one third of the Superstition Wilderness Areas. This was one of the
most devastating fires on public land adjacent to the Superstition
Wilderness Area during the past twenty-five years Then, on June 18,
2002, the largest fire in Arizona history began. This was the
Rodeo-Chediski Fire. This wildfire burned 470,000 acres of Arizona
timber and grasslands by time it was under control July 7, 2002.
Recovery from this fire will require more than a century.
The Superstition Wilderness
experiences some kind of a wild fire almost each summer. On several
occasions the wilderness has been closed to camping and hiking during
extreme fire conditions.
This historical accounting of
wild fire 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 state like Arizona.
As the dry season approaches
this summer 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, smoking
and open flames at all times is extremely important and will protect us
all. Smoking should be confined to automobiles or building during
extreme fire conditions. Your caution with fire protects us all and the
firefighters that have to fight these desert fires.
We can help by having
reasonable firebreak around our home, especially if we live on a large
lot containing a lot of dry tinder. I would like to encourage everyone
to be extremely careful with matches, cigarettes, outdoor cooking, power
tools, and any other use of open flames or sparks. Fire safety in the
desert starts at home and should be practiced at all times.
For more information about fire safety around your home call the Apache Junction Fire District at (480) 982-4440.
