A bad fire!

[azsnowman]

Well, we have our first large wildfire burning 29 miles to my east, the Thomas Fire is a lightning caused fire burning 3 miles south of Alpine. The Thomas Fire started Thurs evening by a lightning strike, it went from 1 acre to over 1000 acres in just 2 days, it's burning in the most pristine, virgin forest in Az There are Douglas Fir, Blue Spruce that are over 600 yrs old, it's burning the Blue primitive Area, let's hope they get a handle on this fire SOON, the residents of Alpine, Nutrioso, Hannigan Meadows have been put on Ready Standby for evacuation

Dennis

[azskyman]

Sorry to hear that Dennis. Is that in an area that has similar conditions as last year's fires. Is it an upslope fire? Etc.?

Keep us posted here. With hot conditions today and winds increasing tomorrow, that is not a good scenario.

Steve

[azsnowman]

OH YES....that area around Alpine, Nutrioso, Hannigan Meadows has upslopes that are at LEAST 25-30% grades, VERY steep terrain which makes it almost impossible to fight by hand, we saw numerous slurry bombers coming out of Show Low Muni yesterday, not the large one, the smaller tankers. One GOOD thing about the fire, the RH has been in the 25-35% range yesterday and last night making the fire stay on the ground and not *crown* like last year BUT......as you said, with forecast winds into the 20 mph range today, that could change in a blink of an eye!

Dennis

[therock1811]

Here we go again... keep us up to date Az!

[azsnowman]

O'tay, here's the latest press release on the Thomas Fire, we've got the Skorski Air Cranes flying over the house along with 2 P-3 Orion Slurry bombers.


USDA FOREST SERVICE

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests

P.O. Box 640

Springerville, AZ 85938

928-333-4301

TTY 928-333-6292

For Immediate Release Contact: Gail Aschenbrenner

June 7, 2003 7:30pm 928-339-4384

Cell: 520-444-4701

Thomas Fire Update
Springerville, AZ…. Clouds and high humidity helped to moderate fire behavior today on the Thomas Fire, 15 miles south of Alpine, Az. Even so, the fire has grown to an estimated 800-1,000 acres. No structures are threatened yet as a dozer line was constructed around private land boundaries and engines are positioned near some of the several cabins that are in the vicinity of the fire.

The Eastern Arizona Incident Management Team is now directing suppression actions which includes the use of Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics, a strategy that is light on the land. Since the fire is burning eastward into the Blue Range Primitive Area, the Team will use natural barriers and hiking trails to confine the fire to a specific area. This minimizes risks to firefighters in difficult terrain and encourages some of the beneficial effects of fire such as reducing hazardous fuels on the ground. This also means that the size of the fire will continue to grow until those natural barriers are encountered. There is no estimate of time of containment.

An estimated 200 people are assigned at this time and they are camped in a meadow near Highway 191 about 14 miles south of Alpine. Helicopters were used today to drop water on hot spots but no heavy air tankers were used. There are several threatened, endangered, or sensitive animal species of concern to managers; they include the Mexican spotted owl, Mexican wolf, loach minnow, Apache trout, and the Chiricahua leopard frog.

Editors: note the new contact phone numbers at the top of the page

END

[azsnowman]

I know this press release says there are no air tankers on the fire, there are now which tells me the fire is growing faster than first thought.

Dennis

[weatherlover427]

Geez, not what you need. Thanks for the updates Dennis! :o

[JetMaxx]

I'll keep you'll in my thought and prayers Dennis...please stay safe!

Perry

[azsnowman]

Thanks for the prayers, I'm safe THIS time, it's quite aways away from us, it would have burn some 500,000+ acres before it even got close to us. Like I said, *this time*, let's hope this is the only big fire this summer.

Dennis

[weatherlover427]

Let's hope indeed!

[azsnowman]

Anyone for BBQ'd Spotted Owl "LOL!", I bet the enviro freaks are having heart failure with this fire, serves 'em right, this is THEIR doing!!!

Dennis

[weatherlover427]

I thought lightning caused it Dennis... :o Am I wrong?

[azsnowman]

Yes, it is a lightning caused fire BUT......the radical environmentalists have stopped ALL thinning projects on ALL national forest lands, IF this part of the forest (Virgin Timber) had been allowed to be logged, thinned, this fire would not have been such a concern BUT........there are some 600-700 yr old pines burning, whatta waste of a renewable resource!

Dennis

[Aslkahuna]

a lightning start, but what he is talking about is that the environmenatlists (geez-I hate that word as a title for someone with a leftist political agenda)have used the Spotted Owl as an excuse to go to Court and prevent the thinning of the Forests to reduce the catastrophic fire danger. Consequently, when a forest is totally destroyed in a crown fire they now have to share in the blame.

Steve

[azsnowman]

AMEN! They need to be held accountable for their actions, a *radical environmentalist* is just another word for Uhhhhh....I won't post that here LOL! Sadly as they stated in the press release, this has put the Apache Trout in danger, as far as the Mexican Wolf goes "Phhhft!" They are no longer in that area, hell, I've seen them around Hondah, Mcnary and the Pinetop Lakes Country Club last winter, I called Az Game and Fish, told them about the sighting and yes......they've been tracking their movement with the radio collars, they have been logged as far away as SnowFlake-Taylor, over 100 miles from their release point, endangered my butt!

Dennis

[weatherlover427]

I see, that makes sense.

[Stephanie]

Keep us posted on the fire's status Dennis

Don't you think though that some of the protections given to the Mexican wolf etc., has at least allowed you and others to see them where you are currently.

As Coriolis mentioned about a pendulum in one topic, things do tend to go from one extreme to another before a middle ground is actually found. Hopefully, the thinning now will continue to keep the forests healthy, but they won't be fully logged.

[Amanzi]

Keep us updated Dennis!

[firefighter16]

Thanks Dennis for this thread. I think everyone knows I am interested in the fire season. Hopefully I can go out west this year and help some families in need. Please keep us updated and please keep your family and friends safe. My prayers go out to everyone invovled.

[azsnowman]

Fire Reports & Up-Dates 2003.

(6/09/3) Juniper Fire Being Allowed To Burn for Resource Benefit.
(6/09/3) Moderate initial attack continued yesterday with 19 new fire starts (1 human-caused, 18 lightning-caused). Of these 17 are in Arizona and 2 in New Mexico.
(6/09/3) ARIZONA THOMAS FIRE is burning on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest within the Blue Primitive Area, 16 miles south of Alpine, AZ. Started by lightning on 6/06, the fire has grown to over 1,500 acres. There are four residences and ten outbuildings currently being threatened. Burning in a steep and rugged area, heavy fuels dominate the landscape. Extreme fire behavior was observed yesterday with active burning and torching. Fire perimeter is expected to spread to the east, south, and west through today. Rich Kvale's Type 2 Team has been assigned to manage the incident. MORMON FIRE is located in Padre Canyon 20 miles southeast of Flagstaff, AZ. This fire has been placed in a confinement strategy, which means a combination of direct and indirect actions are being utilized, including the use of natural topographic features, fuel, and favorable weather. Estimate containment of the fire is June 20.
(6/09/3) NEW MEXICO BLANCO FIRE started 6/04 about 21 miles west of San Ysidro, NM. The fire is being managed by the Bureau of Land Management's Albuquerque Field Office. It is expected to be contained this evening at 400 acres. APACHE FIRE has been contained at 229 acres. The fire has been burning 7 miles east of Pecos in Santa Fe National Forest. DRY LAKES COMPLEX is a number of lightning-caused fires burning in Gila National Forest about 27 miles northwest of Silver City. The complex consists of the DRY, LAKE, SYCAMORE, and MOONSHINE FIRES. Overall, the area involved is 4,000 acres. These fires are being allowed to burn within certain parameters under the direction of a National Fire Use Management Team. DRY LAKES' growth will be monitored through flights and the Mogollon Fire Lookout.





O'TAY......here's the latest on the Thomas Fire and numerous other fires burning in Az and NM, no problem firefighter, in fact, here's a link you can check out everyday!

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/asnf

Dennis