O’Leary, remember when the drought a few years back was especially intense, and you organized a rain dance among the ladies of Portal and Rodeo… and it rained? We really, really need another rain dance. My dear friends, my community, as you will hear at … Continue readingSobering Times
[If you’ve noticed that a couple of my most recent posts have disappeared, it is because Google’s blogging platform was compromised, and has been out of commission for about a day. I’m hoping that the missing posts will reappear soon.] Last night the most obvious … Continue readingProgress on Horseshoe 2 Fire
Overall, the news about the Horseshoe Two Fire is positive. Threat to the Portal area of the Chiricahua Mountains has lessened to the point that residents were allowed to return home this morning. We have all been unloading and unpacking! Wind has subsided greatly, aiding … Continue readingPortaleños Come Home
Today has been busy–apologies for the delay in posting! Like other friends who are having nightmares about the Horseshoe Two fire, I woke with a searing mental image of our house, engulfed in flames. That worry, fortunately, was far from reality. Last night’s very cool, … Continue readingWhat Today Brings
At tonight’s meeting with the Forest Service and firefighters from the Type 1 fire team, the Rodeo-Portal community learned the team’s current basic strategy for dealing with the Horseshoe Two fire. This fire is a handful, as many are proving to be across the West, … Continue readingThe First of Many Meetings
After thinking the fire was so far away, we got a midnight call to evacuate, at first said to be mandatory where we live a couple of miles from Portal. (Actually, Arizona does not have mandatory evacuations.) People in Portal proper received the same call … Continue readingHorseshoe 2 Report
In haste, as we just received a midnight call to evacuate. The flames are indeed visible from our house as the fire approaches the environs of Portal. Time to pack the computer!
Today a fire began in the Chiricahuas and quickly blew into a large burn. It apparently began in upper Horseshoe Canyon, close to the origin of last year’s Horseshoe Fire, and is being called Horseshoe 2. A Type 1 fire team has been dispatched and … Continue readingHorseshoe 2 Fire: Deja Vu