Aslkahuna wrote:Something big time not good appears to be happening in the Piñaleños
around Mt.Graham if that HUGE Pyrocumulus I saw around sundown means anything. The daytime satellite visual imagery showed a long smoke plume but there were clouds so we couldn't pick out the source but the radar shows the plume originating SSW of Safford. Before we lost visual on the PC due to darkness it was still building and we thought there was a faint glow at the base but not sure. Bear in mind that Mt Graham is 70 airmiles from here. Last year at this time, we had the plume from the Aspen fire as it made its run towards NE Tucson.
Steve
Here's the story Steve:
Fire bears down on observatory
Different blaze pours smoke on Payson
Josh Kelley
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 4, 2004 12:00 AM
The "Gibson" fire near Safford continued Saturday to threaten the $200 million-plus Mount Graham International Observatory, while Payson remained safe from the "Willow" fire that filled the town with more smoke.
Mount Graham telescopes
The Mount Graham International Observatory houses three world-class telescopes:
Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope
Run by Jesuit Priests in connection with the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, this 1.8-meter optical telescope searches the universe for star formations.
Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope
This telescope uses radio waves to see through dust clouds out of which scientists believe new stars form.
Large Binocular Telescope
Once it's fully operational in the fall of 2005, this telescope will be the most powerful optical telescope in the world. It can see faint and distant objects because of its two, giant 8.4-meter mirrors that gather in light. Scientists believe it will detect planets outside the solar system, something no other telescopes can do.
Source: Buddy Powell, director of the Mount Graham International Observatory
• Live cam at the Large Binocular Telescope at the Mt. Graham Observatory
Firefighters set up a burnout line two miles southwest of Payson designed to halt the advancing wildfire, located four miles southwest of the city.
The 65,000-acre Willow fire was 8 percent contained but poured smoke and ash into Payson on Friday and Saturday, which led officials to issue a health advisory, said Sandra Dingman, a fire spokeswoman.
After resolving some safety concerns, the federal government is planning to return five large air tankers to the skies to fight forest fires, but Arizona apparently won't be getting as many as Gov. Janet Napolitano had hoped.
"They could be up in the sky as early as next week," said Pati Urias, a spokeswoman for the governor. "It's our understanding that only one of those is going to be sent here."
More than 950 people are involved in containing the Willow fire, which started June 24.
To the southeast, the Gibson fire spread rapidly Saturday morning up Mount Graham toward the observatory, which is a division of the Steward Observatory, the research arm of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona.
However, the blaze slowed about three-quarters of a mile from the observatory in the afternoon when a low-pressure system ushered in some much needed humidity, said John Ratje, the observatory's site manager.
All but four people evacuated the observatory that sits at 10,500 feet on the mountain. The observatory employees who remain are prepared to start an emergency sprinkler system if the fire closes in, said Buddy Powell, the observatory's director.
The observatory houses the $120 million Large Binocular Telescope, which is expected to be operational this fall. Once fully equipped, it will be the most powerful optical telescope on earth, Powell said. The observatory also contains the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, which is 75 percent owned by the Catholic Church, and the Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope.
Early in the day, the Southwest Area Incident Management Team that's fighting the Gibson fire feared it would overtake the observatory by 3 p.m.
But the fire's progress slowed, while planes dumped fire retardant from overhead, Ratje said.
"I'm guardedly hopeful," Powell said Saturday night. "I'm certainly more hopeful than I was at two o'clock this afternoon."
Friday morning the fire covered 10 acres but spread to 100 acres by afternoon. Saturday morning the fire was officially 112 acres, but infrared images taken overnight indicated that perhaps 300 plus acres had burned, Ratje said.
The Gibson is close to the much larger "Nuttall" fire, a 3,105-acre blaze spreading toward the observatory four miles to the west. The Gibson fire is spreading toward the observatory from the east.
Ratje said there's some concern the two fires could merge with the observatory stuck in the middle, but the Gibson poses an immediate threat.
This morning, firefighters plan to bulldoze a 30-foot-wide road that leads to the observatory clear of any vegetation, said Dean McAlister, fire management officer for the Coronado National Forest. The road should provide a temporary barrier to prevent ground fire, said McAlister, who expects the fire to eventually reach the observatory's perimeter.
The goal is that the fire will be relatively cool and not rapidly spreading when it reaches the observatory's 50- to 100-foot perimeter that's cleared of trees. McAlister said the clearing will prevent major damage, but Powell said he still fears the fire could do $20 million to $50 million in damage.
The observatory received a $200,000 grant from the state to clear a larger perimeter from the mostly dead forest on Mount Graham's peaks. But Coronado National Forest has not allowed Powell to clear all he wants because of environmental concerns, among other things.
In 1996 the "Clark Peak" fire came within 100 yards of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope.
Elsewhere Saturday in Arizona:
Dennis
Got off duty about an hour ago, pulled a 14 hr shift today and yesterday, issued "23" citations for ILLEGAL campfires 
"2" citations for ILLEGAL fireworks and that was JUST TODAY 
we wrote a total of 15 yesterday for campfires......"WTF" gives anyways, can't people READ anymore or don't people give a RATZ ASP?? 
