Smoke from two regions of the Horseshoe Two Fire on 11 June 2011. To the left is smoke from the West Turkey Creek area; to the right, from Whitetail Canyon. (Photos by Narca) Firefighters confronting the Horseshoe Two Fire in Arizona’s Chiricahua Mountains continue to … Continue readingThe Summer of Fire
At last night’s community meeting with the fire team, Rich Harvey (an incident commander) emphasized the extremes which the firefighters are encountering in their dealings with the Horseshoe Two fire––unprecedented in his 32 years of experience. (Very likely, firefolk on the Wallow and Murphy Complex … Continue readingExtremes
by Wynne Brown, Guest Author All hell broke loose soon after I sent my last update. The wind picked up to 50-60 mph gusts that afternoon and blew so hard that it was hard to stand upright. The light in the Grills’ barnyard turned copper, … Continue readingWhitetail Canyon: a Firsthand Account
Walt Anderson is a long-time friend and fellow artist who teaches at Prescott College. He was in Chiricahua National Monument when the Horseshoe Two Fire jumped containment lines at Saulsbury Saddle and raged through Rustler and Barfoot Parks. His photos document that awesome, terrible event. … Continue readingWalt Anderson’s Photos of Horseshoe Two
Yesterday the wind was calmer, and fire crews working on the Horseshoe Two Fire (which has burned for more than a month in the Chiricahua Mountains) were able to gain some ground in their efforts to contain this fire. Today’s fire map shows the areas … Continue readingCurrent Fire Strategy
As one of the hotshot fire crews finished their work at Rick and Lynne Taylor’s house in Whitetail Canyon, their neighbor walked past, and was asked this question: “What is the ratio of sugar to water for filling these hummingbird feeders?” Now that is an … Continue readingA Burning Question
Yesterday evening as we dropped down Granite Gap into the San Simon Valley, plumes of smoke still churned from the Chiricahua Mountains. Homecoming is bittersweet. Smoke from Whitetail Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains (Photos by Narca) Horseshoe Two continues to surge north and west, driven … Continue readingHomecoming to the Horseshoe Two Fire
You know you have been around intense fire way too much when you arrive in the gracious Deep South, and see the stately magnolias, and dogwood, and flowering crepe myrtle, and all you really see is ladder fuel. The wide expanses of lawn, however, are … Continue readingFrom South Carolina
I don’t think I can report dispassionately the latest developments in the Horseshoe Two Fire, raging in the Chiricahua Mountains. When the fire jumped containment lines near Saulsbury Saddle, it roared through Rustler Park, Onion Saddle, Barfoot Park, and the high ridges so familiar to … Continue readingWrenching News
As we thought we were seeing an end to the fire and its attendant stresses (with containment being predicted for June 22), the Horseshoe Two Fire has broken free of containment lines to move across Rock Creek Canyon and northeast toward Paradise, East Whitetail Canyon, … Continue readingThe Long Siege Lengthens