The first hint of something extraordinary is all the activity along the South Fork road, just below the bridge. A dozen Black-headed Grosbeaks forage on the ground and munch breakfast in the branches overhanging the road. Apache Fox Squirrels nestle in the sprays of leaves. … Continue readingSilverleaf
Yes, he was only here briefly, and yes, he only allowed for one quick photo through a hazy window… but Alan and I were thrilled to see this male Varied Bunting at our bird feeder on Wednesday! When we lived in Guadalupe Canyon, they were … Continue reading20-Minute Wonder
I returned home from Flagstaff to welcome news: the Horseshoe Fire is virtually extinguished! The Forest Service’s fly-overs with infrared cameras have shown some remaining hotspots in smoldering tree stumps, but no live flames and no areas of concern. The final tallies: fire size 3,386 … Continue readingSouth Fork Reopens!
Smoking San Francisco Peaks (Photos by Narca) Up in Flagstaff, the Shultz Fire has settled down considerably: the 15,000-acre blaze is now 75% contained, to the relief of the city’s residents. While visiting my sister Kelly the past few days, we stopped at the command … Continue readingFlag
Well, maybe jubilation is overstating it… but a wetting rain did fall on the Horseshoe Fire last night, 0.12″ at our house! Lightning started two new fires, one in Pinery Canyon and one in Brushy Canyon, and the Forest Service is flying over the area … Continue readingJubilation
One of Flagstaff’s very fine photographers, Keiji Iwai, has given me permission to post a link to his spectacular time-lapse movie of the Schultz Fire in Flagstaff: http://keijiiwai.com/Clients/SchultzFireSmall.mov
This morning at the fire briefing in Portal, the new map for the Horseshoe Fire hadn’t changed from the last one: the small amount of burning yesterday was in the interior of the fire. Today a major topic at the fire briefing was the weather. … Continue readingThunderheads
Be sure to check yesterday’s post––I added photos of the Schultz Fire in Flagstaff, which my sister sent!
This morning’s briefing on the Horseshoe Fire was held under cloudy skies, with a ragged trace of virga falling to the northeast. The transition from Brad McBratney’s fire crew to Wayne Cook’s fire team became official this morning. (Brad is standing at the far left, … Continue readingFire Line Holding in South Fork
Remember our Type 1 fire team led by Dugger Hughes? They are now in Flagstaff dealing with a much more extreme situation than the Horseshoe Fire presented. The fire in Schultz Pass flared from a tiny wisp of smoke (which my sister Kelly Burke noticed … Continue readingFirestorm in Flagstaff