# We're on fire......again.



## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Here we go again. We have 2 major fires now burning in the state both are north of Phoenix and doubled in size overnight. We have approximately 900 firefighters here putting it all on the line to save houses. Many reports say that ratttle snakes are often found moving near the firelines these brave souls are working, coupled with 90* heat (not counting what the fire produces).


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## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

YA I've been following it YD, those wild fires are real nasty, doesn't matter where they are, the destruction can be devastating for many years before noticeable recovery. The real sad part about many of them are that they are started from idiots.


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## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

Yikes! Do they know how it they started?


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## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

Dont get me started on fires and all the politics that we had to deal with a few years back with the Rodeo-Chediski Fire. They could put these fires out quick if they wanted to!!!! Dont get me wrong the actual firefighters are great, its the Forest service and the Govt. that stinks.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

I'm not really sure why we still expect the gobermint to act in our best interests. We, as a whole are slow learners.


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## Mattuk (Oct 16, 2010)

Oh no not again. How have the area's recovered from the last fires Don?


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## bones44 (Jan 7, 2011)

Been following it too. Hats off to those folks working to put them out. Hope everyone stays safe and gets this contained quick !


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Mattuk said:


> Oh no not again. How have the area's recovered from the last fires Don?


They haven't really had much of a chance.yet, with the little bit of rainfalll we get here and the fact that we are not even getting our average things are tough.

I'll defer that to Prairiewolf He lives next to an area that burned 10 years ago.


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## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

The wildlife is finally coming back but the land looks like CRAP!! Fallen dead trees and now the underbrush is taking over everywhere. In a few more years you wont be able to walk hardly anywhere through the fire area! I just dont understand why the forest aren't managed better! What is really confusing is in the Forest Service Building here in Overgaard, there are pictures of sections of forest that were kept up and called healthy, then they show pics(same area) of the forests now all overgrown with underbrush. Thats also why our small mountain creeks have less water running !! All the brush along the creek beds(so bad you cant walk along them anymore) is taking most of the water before it gets downstream any distance. They need to go back to the days when the ranchers took care of the land instead of some govt agency in Washington setting at a desk. The rancher would move cattle because of available feed not just on a time table. They also would spray the underbrush with salt water so the cattle would eat it and keep it at bay.


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## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

OK, I have to tell this one story on the fire 10 yrs agoand I think you all will know why I get so upset about these fires.

The govt wouldnt let the contractors or ranchers up here help fight the fire because their equipment wasnt up to their standards. Like no seats belts or operator didnt have hard hats. BULL CRAP!!! Then one day they all are contacted to get their equipment and show up out by the rim road about 5 miles south of town. Everyone is excited and eager to help. They have everyone line up and start moving westward. Within a few minutes alot of helicopters fly overhead(news copters). then abruptly they are all stoped and told to go home!!!!!
THIS REALLY HAPPENED!!!!!! AND I GOT ALOT MORE STORIES ALSO.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Where is the sunflower fire in relation to you now Ed ? Here the news is reporting that the fire will run into where the willow(not wallow) fire burned a few years back. Then they say it (the sunflower)will run out of fuel and quickly die down....


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## Jim_ (Feb 6, 2012)

Seems like we go through this every other year or so here in San Diego too.
We lost everything in the 2003 fire because of politics.
Since our area is more rural they decided that our area doesn't need any help.
Out of approx 300 homes around here, over 250 were completely destroyed.

Keep an eye on the fires Don and anyone else around there.
Hopefully everything will be ok!!!

Jim


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

I'm sorry to hear of your loss Jim. The sunflower fire is now at 12000 acres, the Gladiator fire has doubled overnite and we have high wind warnings today and tomorrow.


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## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

Don, I live right in Overgaard. I hope the Sunflower fire doesnt connect to the Willow fire. Overgaard/Heber is about 50 miles NE of Payson. If you google Rodeo-Chediski fire you can see a map of the area of the 2 largest fires and both were all around here.Ruined some of the most beautifull land in Az. When I moved up here (from the valley)we had to detour with a moving van through the forest around black canyon lake because of a fire a kid started because he got lost from his dad. That was in 1995. People just dont think !!! One year deer hunting up here I found a fire at a camp site that the people had left and it had burned an area about 50yds wide. I tried to put it out myself but couldnt do it. I then drove to the forest service building back when it was on the 34 road north and west of town. All the lady said was, "I will send someone by to take a look later today" I tried to explain how bad it was getting but she didnt seem concerned !!


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## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

Jim you are so right on the rural areas. When they found out the Az govenor had a home in Pinetop during the Rodeo-Chediski fire they pulled all firefighters even the one hot shot crew from our area to go over there. Thats when all Hell broke loose here and the people started fighting the fire no matter what the authorities said. It got ugly sometimes. But you never hear of any of this in the news.


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## 220swift (Mar 2, 2011)

You guys take care in AZ. We also have a 5000+ acre fire burning nothwest of Ft. Collins which is north of Denver. Way to early for this much fire. Everyone stay safe.


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## sos1inmesa (May 11, 2011)

My first fox was taken in the Sunflower area. The area is about 40 minutes north of me. There's some good looking country out there, so hopefully things can get contained (for all the fires around here).

Just curious though, since we are on a predator website here.... what kind of impact does this have on the predator hunting for the months and years to come for areas that have suffered from fire damage. Youngdon and I went hunting about 6 months back in what seemed like some prime areas near a few reservoirs. Visibility was great, the terrain was nice, and it was great weather, yet nothing came in. Toward the end of the day, Don pointed out how we really hadn't seen any wildlife (no rabbits jumping around, hardly any birds, etc). Then he mentioned how the area had suffered fire damage several years prior. This was the only thing we could link to our slow day, as we were taking care of business almost everywhere else.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

A lot of the areas recovery depends on what the forest service does to reseed the area. Some places they spread grass seed and others they just leave alone. Too much rainwashes all the topsoil away not enough and nothing grows. Some fires leave pockets of unburned trees which help in reseeding the forest as well. Once the grasses come back the wildlife starts moving in, however it all depends on a lot of factors and nothing grows without rain.


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## Mattuk (Oct 16, 2010)

What about tree's Don will they replant the forest too?


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

It depends on the situation, if there are enough islands left then no. In fact most burn areas get nothing.


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## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

Up here on the rim just south of town where I live. They planted some trees in an area. The big fire was in 2002 and now they are about 12-16" tall but still covered by the plastic cones, but thats all they have done. One good thing came from the Rodeo-Chediski fire. They have now started clearing the underbrush close to towns around Az.This should have been done decades ago.The fire has also changed what wildlife is coming back to certain areas.We are seeing alot more deer now and less elk,less turkeys and more coyotes. I use to drive to Show Low in the winter and never see a coyote this year alone I think I saw one every time I went to Show Low.


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## 220swift (Mar 2, 2011)

We are getting a break today on the Colorado fire. It's cooled down and has been raining of and on all night and most of the morning This will help the firefighters a hugh amount.

Wish I could send some rain down your way in AZ.


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## knapper (Feb 5, 2010)

We have had some very bad fire years in which we lost 5 million acres to fire and they are hard to fight with no road and moving crews around. Some of them they move the crews off of and control the burn due to the fuel load being so high. If they do they may have a another big fire in a couple of years. Some of the back fires have gotten bigger than the real ones and the makes people concerned now when they do that.


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## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

This is awful. I don't know how you guys deal with it.


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## Antlerz22 (Apr 18, 2011)

knapper said:


> We have had some very bad fire years in which we lost 5 million acres to fire and they are hard to fight with no road and moving crews around. Some of them they move the crews off of and control the burn due to the fuel load being so high. If they do they may have a another big fire in a couple of years. Some of the back fires have gotten bigger than the real ones and the makes people concerned now when they do that.


 Back in the days before the indians were usurped, here in the south they actually burned the woods. They did it in areas that needed it but more importantly they managed the woods by CONTROLLED burns. They never got out of control due to knowing where and when/how often it was required as well as there never was a great amount of understory BECAUSE of the controlled burns. Generally every year somewhere they burned to maintain a good balance and at the same time, it released seeds and removed understory and it grew new grass for the deer to eat. Fire is a most helpful tool if used properly and when the season/conditions are right as well. Lastly it kept the lower branches at bay and the forests were actually shaded, grassy and you could see a fair distance as well with the higher canopy. Those days are gone forever, and thats why we have the situations we have nowadays--IMO


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## Mattuk (Oct 16, 2010)

Spot on Antlerz22 it's a very valuable tool to use in the right conditions.


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## knapper (Feb 5, 2010)

WE are just starting our fire season and there have been a few that they have jumped on with both feet and got put out soon.


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