Tucson is burning

[sjbraun]

A lightening caused fire started on Thursday. Yesterday it crested the back side of the Catalina Mountains and is heading into the valley. I shot this picture from my roof last night, roughly 12 miles from the fire.
A large swath of expensive foothills neighborhoods are under orders to evacuate. Currently 106 degrees, 5% humidity and gusty winds. DC10s are dropping fire retardant, but the terrain makes it very difficult for other fire fighting measures. Could be a long summer.

[dbnm]

oh no!

Be safe!

[Clean39T]

That is a great photo - but terrifying circumstances.. AZ folks we're wishing you the best!

[RFC]

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that we had a very wet winter leading to a great deal of desert plant growth. That brush is now very crispy. It's going to be a bad fire season.

Here is a photo my son took yesterday from his lab on the UofA campus.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49996434001_ea32e3e247_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jb1MYM)fire (https://flic.kr/p/2jb1MYM) by Robert Copple (https://www.flickr.com/photos/161536771@N04/), on Flickr

[Leyczo]

That is insane.

[sjbraun]

[QUOTE=RFC;2737859]The problem is exacerbated by the fact that we had a very wet winter leading to a great deal of desert plant growth. That brush is now very crispy. It's going to be a bad fire season.

According to a source at the U of A, the area burning has not burned for several decades, so lots of fuel. I ran this morning and my lungs were burning within minutes.

[Jaybee]

I remember one Fourth of July, 2003 maybe? where the fire dotted ridgeline of the Catalina's was a better show than the city fireworks.

Kind looks like it might be in the Wilderness of Rocks area from RFCs picture

Hope you all can stay safe.

[Llewellyn]

Stay safe. Reminds me of our Black Summer. Hopefully your outcomes are better than ours were.

[rustychisel]

Stay safe. Reminds me of our Black Summer. Hopefully your outcomes are better than ours were.

seconded. Best wishes to all

[Walter]

I drove East on Ina/Sunrise today at 1pm from Oracle to Craycroft and it was over the top. Fire coming South down several canyons, moving East between the ridgelines, looked like an airport with all of the airplanes going back and forth painting red retardant lines to try to contain it, and helicopters going back and forth with water on hot spots.

Several friends along Sunrise near Alvernon Way were told to be ready to evac on short notice...

[RFC]

Photos -- fire fight in action.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-wildfires/2020/06/11/bighorn-fire-hundreds-homes-evacuated-nearly-5-000-acres-burned-10-percent-containment/5346445002/

[azrider]

Hurry up Monsoons!!!! 😢

[RFC]

Hurry up Monsoons!!!! 😢

👍

[rab]

Watched the fire Saturday evening from the west side of Pusch Ridge, hoped they would have it under control as it seemed to be slow to grow initially, but that is some really rough terrain.
Pretty incredible work the pilots do flying those tankers, few of the runs we saw were super low. The plane in the shot posted passed really close to one of the perpendicular ridges, wild wtching the plane and its shadow get really close!
Really bummed to see it working down towards the perimeter of the foothills now...hoping everyone comes out unscathed.

[dgauthier]

Best thoughts to everyone in Tucson from fire-prone California!

Our daughter just graduated from beautiful UofA in Tucson last year. We have many warm memories of visiting her, staying at the Loews Ventana (not far from the BigHorn fire), and enjoying your city and stunning desert landscapes. We hope the backburns are successful in stopping the advance.

[54ny77]

wow. be safe all.

[azrider]

[emoji22]

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[zmudshark]

2020, it just gets worse every day.

[RFC]

We have three fires going in AZ. My other son and his SO were camping in Tanto last night. As they packed up and left this morning, they found a deserted 87 with fire crews lining the road. He said the most telling sight was that the wooden posts on the guard rails were burning.

[YesNdeed]

A good friend is in Tanque Verde, or about 5 miles from the fire. I'm a bit worried as I haven't heard from him, but I think he's outside of the current evacuation zone. Much love to all in that area.

[sjbraun]

Tanque Verde valley is many miles from the fire. The fire would have to traverse the whole length of the Catalina mountains (from west to east,) to get to the Tanque Verde area. You're friends should be safe.

[sjbraun]

These pilots have incredible skills. They're dropping slurry with incredible precision in very challenging areas.


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[YesNdeed]

Tanque Verde valley is many miles from the fire. The fire would have to traverse the whole length of the Catalina mountains (from west to east,) to get to the Tanque Verde area. You're friends should be safe.

That's good to know for them, thank you. Pretty terrifying for those much closer. I rode a ways up Mt. Lemmon late last year. Really awesome riding.

We've benefitted from an early monsoon in the last week or so, but still very dry.

[jchasse]

Best wishes to you Tucson people.

We have 2 lightning-caused fires burning just west of us, both started by storms on Saturday.

With all the crap we've been living through so far this year the last thing we need is another bad fire year.

[William]

2020, it just gets worse every day.


2020: Each month that goes by so far has been like...

:eek:

[azrider]

We have three fires going in AZ. My other son and his SO were camping in Tanto last night. As they packed up and left this morning, they found a deserted 87 with fire crews lining the road. He said the most telling sight was that the wooden posts on the guard rails were burning.

More like 300!!! Ok ok.......some of those fires listed were set intentionally to combat other fires but this season is off to horrendous start. Here are the big ones currently burning:

Magnum- 30,000 acres at 2% containment

Blue River- 30,000 acres at 40% containment

Bighorn- 12,000 acres at 12% containment

Sawtooth fire- 22,000 acres at 65% containment

Bush Fire- 18,000 acres at 0% containment

Dry Lake- 6000 acres

Tortolina - 4000 acres


I camped out in Tonto just two weeks ago near Heber and in my group I'm normally the first one up. I was ready to get home so I left early and got on the road but the rest of my buddies got stuck later in the day due to Beeline being shutdown because of fire. I just learned this morning that Beeline is closed again from Bush Highway all the way to SR 188 which goes behind Browns Peak (4 peaks) to Roosevelt Lake.

Punkin Center and Tonto Basin were just given evacuation orders. If it comes remotely close those two areas will be completely wiped out. :(:(

IT was determined THAT fire was most likely caused by chains draggin..............PISSES ME OFF. There are so many new trailer or camper owners that are either too careless, or just uneducated on how to secure their chains and that tiny little spark causes massive fire.

Thoughts and prayers to the thousands of service men/women out there fighting the flames

[RFC]

More like 300!!! Ok ok.......some of those fires listed were set intentionally to combat other fires but this season is off to horrendous start. Here are the big ones currently burning:

Magnum- 30,000 acres at 2% containment

Blue River- 30,000 acres at 40% containment

Bighorn- 12,000 acres at 12% containment

Sawtooth fire- 22,000 acres at 65% containment

Bush Fire- 18,000 acres at 0% containment

Dry Lake- 6000 acres

Tortolina - 4000 acres


I camped out in Tonto just two weeks ago near Heber and in my group I'm normally the first one up. I was ready to get home so I left early and got on the road but the rest of my buddies got stuck later in the day due to Beeline being shutdown because of fire. I just learned this morning that Beeline is closed again from Bush Highway all the way to SR 188 which goes behind Browns Peak (4 peaks) to Roosevelt Lake.

Punkin Center and Tonto Basin were just given evacuation orders. If it comes remotely close those two areas will be completely wiped out. :(:(

IT was determined THAT fire was most likely caused by chains draggin..............PISSES ME OFF. There are so many new trailer or camper owners that are either too careless, or just uneducated on how to secure their chains and that tiny little spark causes massive fire.

Thoughts and prayers to the thousands of service men/women out there fighting the flames

Wow! Thanks for the update. More good news!

[lzuk]

So sad. My winter playground. Does anyone know if the Honey bee and the 50 year trail systems survived?

[unterhausen]

The picture of the DC 10 (or variant, don't @ me) is amazing. When I lived in Utah, there were fires near us a couple of times. They brought in an old prop plane that I didn't recognize. I was a little worried the wings were not going to hold up.

[Idris Icabod]

So sad. My winter playground. Does anyone know if the Honey bee and the 50 year trail systems survived?

Honeybee is fine and not under threat. Catalina state park is currently closed. I get a good view of the fire from my work and last Friday it looked as if the fire was very close to the 50 year trail. I haven't heard anything official but I wouldn't expect to ride there.

[rab]

Honeybee is fine and not under threat. Catalina state park is currently closed. I get a good view of the fire from my work and last Friday it looked as if the fire was very close to the 50 year trail. I haven't heard anything official but I wouldn't expect to ride there.

It looks like the fire burned pretty close to the 50 Year trail but didn’t quite make it up from the Sutherland Wash riverbed, so hopefully main trail is good?
The inciweb maps seem to be pretty good/accurate:

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/maps/6741/

[joev]

Just in this afternoon...Summerhaven, the town on top of Mt. Lemmon, is under evacuation orders. 17 years ago the Aspen fire swept through that area.

Thoughts go out to those folks. Tomorrow will be another hot and windy day.:mad:

[RFC]

Just in this afternoon...Summerhaven, the town on top of Mt. Lemmon, is under evacuation orders. 17 years ago the Aspen fire swept through that area.

Thoughts go out to those folks. Tomorrow will be another hot and windy day.:mad:

That's too bad. I have driven up there with one of my sons for lunch many times and wondered how it would be to live there.

[azrider]

Bush Fire- 18,000 acres at 0% containment



Ughh.......gutted. In 24hrs the Bush Fire has now grown to 70,000 acres and is still at 0% containment.

All started by human :(:(

[Idris Icabod]

The fire has really taken hold in the pine trees. Summerhaven has been evacuated. This is the view from the deck at my work, It looks terrible now, you can occasionally see the flames jumping in the sky at the top of the ridge.

[azrider]

These pilots have incredible skills. They're dropping slurry with incredible precision in very challenging areas.

INDEED. This video is absolutely insane. I'm guessing you'll need a FB account to access it but I took screen shot. Yes that's a road, and what appears to be DC-10 roughly 40......50 feet above dropping retardant.....WOW :eek:

https://www.facebook.com/Lindagrossaz/videos/10218212437604110/

[soulspinner]

These pilots have incredible skills. They're dropping slurry with incredible precision in very challenging areas.


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Right? Not as easy as one might think...you get very close to a stall sometimes...………

[dbnm]

This is rough to watch. I've had such great experiences in Tucson.

Also, I am in Albuquerque and we are getting the smoke here resulting in unhealthy air quality warnings.

[Dino Suegiù]

Will these fires threaten Tumacácori and San Xavier del Bac?
I do not know where these fires are, relative to those places.
Tumacácori is one of the most beautiful and serene places I have ever visited.

[Idris Icabod]

Will these fires threaten Tumacácori and San Xavier del Bac?
I do not know where these fires are, relative to those places.
Tumacácori is one of the most beautiful and serene places I have ever visited.

No, these places are much further south. The fire seems to be moving north now and the towns of Oracle and San Manuel are the focus for the fire crews in the coming days according to this mornings briefing. Because of the skill and hard work of the fire crews, Summerhaven on the top of Mt. Lemmon seems like it was protected. I saw a time lapse video taken up there yesterday, that no buildings were burned is nothing short of miraculous.

[joev]

Will these fires threaten Tumacácori and San Xavier del Bac?
I do not know where these fires are, relative to those places.
Tumacácori is one of the most beautiful and serene places I have ever visited.

Those places are safe and south of Tucson. The fire is north. Summerhaven is OK right now. Heard that the fire is moving north of it. There is a branch of it, though, south of Summerhaven. Hope the firefighters can make some headway against it there.

[robertbb]

I wouldn't wanna be near that fire retardant... it is not good for your health. Highly carcinogenic.

(Totally understand why it needs to be used, no issue with that. But people should be nowhere near when it's being let loose in the sky).

[Walter]

A video posted a few days ago from the webcam above a fire station on Mt Lemmon... https://tucson.com/news/local/watch-now-towering-flames-from-the-bighorn-fire-pass-near-mount-lemmons-fire-department/video_2665ee99-9cb6-52b3-8a49-61f8d9b43cfb.html

Video starts at night and takes a bit to reach daylight.

It appears that they have saved Summerhaven, but the fire is now storming down Ventana Canyon towards a large resort and some very nice homes. They have built fire breaks, will let it come to the flatter area where they can work and then try to knock it down.

This thing has a life of its own. A lot of very beautiful country that those of us here ride in often scarred for years if not decades.

[RFC]

Update on AZ fires.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-wildfires/2020/06/19/bush-fire-up-150-000-acres-other-fires-burns-across-arizona/3221502001/

[Idris Icabod]

I wouldn't wanna be near that fire retardant... it is not good for your health. Highly carcinogenic.

(Totally understand why it needs to be used, no issue with that. But people should be nowhere near when it's being let loose in the sky).

Can you cite your source for this? I did a bit of Google research and the most commonly used retardant is called phos-chek, which is noted as not toxic to mammals but harmful to aquatic environments. I'm concerned because there is some good mountain biking on the land that was doused and if it is indeed carcinogenic, i want to avoid it untill it is deemed safe.

[rab]

Can you cite your source for this? I did a bit of Google research and the most commonly used retardant is called phos-chek, which is noted as not toxic to mammals but harmful to aquatic environments. I'm concerned because there is some good mountain biking on the land that was doused and if it is indeed carcinogenic, i want to avoid it untill it is deemed safe.

The common phos cheek retardant is ammonium phosphate/pokyphosphates. No studies indicate it’s carcinogenic and composition would indicate it wouldn’t be. I looked into this after taking a roll through a muddy slough of ash and phos chek run off a couple years back. Spent rest of ride smelling like an old fire pit.

Here’s a write up on health risks:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK225644/

[Idris Icabod]

The common phos cheek retardant is ammonium phosphate/pokyphosphates. No studies indicate it’s carcinogenic and composition would indicate it wouldn’t be. I looked into this after taking a roll through a muddy slough of ash and phos chek run off a couple years back. Spent rest of ride smelling like an old fire pit.

Here’s a write up on health risks:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK225644/

This is a great link. Thanks!