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Arizona Fires (1 Viewer)

ben_lewis

Well-known member
I'm surprised there is nothing about this on here yet.

From the info I can glean from the internet it seems as though large parts of very important habitat, not to mention towns are currently burning in SE Arizona.

I hope the weather sorts itself out and helps with the monumental effort that is being put into stopping the fires, it seems that high winds are expected over the next day or two which will not help at all!

I am due to come to the Sierra vista area at the beginning of August, so (rather selfishly) I hope that the damage is not too extensive. I know that fires are relatively common at this time of the year but it seems as though these are bigger fires than usual and causing more damage.

My thoughts go to those of you in the affected areas.
 
Ben,
thank you for the thoughts. We have been extremely lucky with the Monument Fire in the Huachuca mountains - so far. We have lost structures in some of the canyons, but no loss of life. Today, winds are due to gust to 50 mph. Firefighters are very worried, and a large part of the areas east of the mountains are under evacuation or pre-evacuation orders.
As to the birding areas, we are in danger of extensive damage to Ramsey Canyon Nature Preserve if the fire continues heading north along the mountain range. Ash Canyon B&B was saved by a slurry drop on the house, much of the surroundings were torched. Beatty's is a priority with the firefighters, they are doing fire breaks around his place. So far the San Pedro river area is ok, but with the strong gusty winds who knows.

Some of us are praying for the monsoons to hit (mid-July hopefully), as we will be in danger of fire at almost anyplace until then. These are big fires mainly due to the unnaturally dry conditions. Once the monsoons come the grass will green up and the birding will pick up. August is a great time to come due to the beginnings of migration.
And don't forget, Sierra Vista is a good jumping off point to the Patagonia area.
Lisa
 
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I've spent the past couple of weeks blogging about the fires:

http://www.funbirdingtours.com/blog/

The Monument Fire in the Huachuca Mountains near Sierra Vista has been devastating. Mary Jo at Ash Canyon B&B was extremely lucky. A 'firestorm' came through Ash Canyon and burnt around 40 homes. Ash Canyon B&B was one of two homes that survived relatively unscathed. Several local birders and wildlife experts lost their homes which is absolutely tragic. My heart goes out to them.

This fire remains very dangerous and volatile, although the latest news suggests that both Beatty's in Miller Canyon and the Nature Conservancy Preserve at Ramsey Canyon are well prepared and confident of survival. We can but hope.

Elsewhere, the Horseshoe II Fire in the Chiricahuas has pretty much burnt the entire mountain range. Amazingly they have managed to protect the small towns of Portal and Paradise and the famous south fork of Cave Creek, but many of the other birding sites in the Chiricahuas have been lost. Rustler Park, Barfoot Lookout and the Onion Saddle (the main USA range of Mexican Chickadee) are completely gone. This fire has been burning for more than 40 days and has become one of the largest in Arizona history, burning more than 200,000 acres. Nine homes have been damaged or destroyed.

Further north, in east central Arizona, the Wallow Fire has become *the* largest fire in Arizona history. It continues to rage through the White Mountains. It's now burnt more than half a million acres! So far 32 houses have been lost and four commercial properties. There have been ten injuries but thankfully no fatalities.

Other fires recently include the Murphy Complex Fire which came within a whisker of burning Sycamore Canyon, and did burn the Pena Blanca Lake area. This fire is now out. There have been multiple smaller fires which have also now been extinguished.

The implications for birding here are serious, short term and long term. Although we have to put it into perspective: losing your home is serious, not being able to see a few birds is not so serious really. However, if it ruins your vacation, it's still pretty bad. Long term, we have suffered an enormous amount of habitat loss. Short term, we have to deal with a lot of closures and restrictions.

The entire 1.8 million acres of Coronado National Forest are closed to ALL use. Massive fines and possible prison terms await anyone who tries to break the closures. This includes all of the potential birding sites in the mountains of SE Arizona, such as Madera Canyon, Mt Lemmon, all sites in the Huachuca Mountains (Miller, Carr, Ramsey and Ash Canyons, Fort Huachuca including Sawmill, Scheelite, Garden and Huachuca Canyon), the Chiricahua Mountains, Sycamore Canyon, California Gulch, Pena Blanca Lake, etc etc.

Effectively, the only available birding here at the moment is in the lowlands. Places like Patagonia, the San Pedro and Santa Cruz Rivers and Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson are still open.

But anyone hoping to see mountain species such as Elegant Trogon this summer are out of luck - it isn't going to happen.

The closures will continue until 'significant moisture is received' from the monsoon rains, which *should* be here in the next few weeks. My impression is that the closures will remain in place until mid August, maybe later.

As you can imagine, this is causing havoc to many businesses, mine included, but the main thing right now is to keep people safe and protect properties from burning down. We'll worry about little things like making a living later...

Again, more details on my blog at http://www.funbirdingtours.com/blog/ or on the InciWeb website: www.inciweb.org

If you'd like the latest news, email me via my website and I'll try to keep you informed.

And please, everyone, do a little rain dance for us!

:-C
 
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Sorry to hear how bad things are with you:C. Sounds as though I'll need to think hard about visiting next spring, might be better to leave my visit until 2013. Not what you want to hear given your occupation but I'm sure i won't be alone in re-planning my visit. Hope everything is under control quickly and that the rains come early.
 
I've been quite worried about these fires for a few weeks now, as I'm planning to visit in early-mid July. Looks like my options will be a bit limited unless some significant rains arrive! I shall still come anyway, as I'm 'in the area'. Good luck to all those who are affected by the fires.
 
Thanks for the link Richard, I'll be checking that frequently. Its interesting that the closures may be in place until mid August, I'd have hoped that 'significant rain' would fall in July to open everything by then. I guess it just depends on what the weather does, its been dry so far so hopefully that wont mean a dry monsoon season too.
Fingers crossed for the rains and for the current fires not to do too much more damage.
 
To follow up on the fires...

The Monument Fire, which is burning in the Huachuca Mountains near Sierra Vista is now 98% contained. The firefighting effort is down to 70 personnel. The chances of this fire growing are low. It burnt a total of 30,500 acres.

At least 57 houses were lost but the good news is that birding sites such as Ash Canyon B&B, Beatty's Guest Ranch and Battiste's B&B are largely OK and open for business. By 'OK' I mean that their houses did not burn down, but both Ash Canyon B&B and Beatty's Guest Ranch suffered habitat loss. And by 'open for business' I mean that the fire restrictions are still in place so you still require advance permission from Tom Beatty to visit Beatty's, while the neighborhood situation means that visiting Ash Canyon B&B is restricted to friends of Mary Jo - contact her in advance to become her friend!

Again, there's more good news - the birds are still there!

Here's first hand word from Mary Jo Ballator at Ash Canyon: http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1106E&L=BIRDWG05&P=R253&I=-3 and http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1106E&L=BIRDWG05&P=R1582&I=-3

...and Tom Beatty at Beatty's Guest Ranch: http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1106D&L=BIRDWG05&P=R50&I=-3

The Horseshoe 2 Fire in the Chiricahua Mountains is now 100% contained but still active. There are just 45 personnel left fighting this fire.

This fire consumed huge swathes of the Chiricahua Mountains but again, there's surprisingly good news. Many of the best birding areas still look to be in good shape apparently.

Here's first hand info from Helen Snyder: http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1107A&L=BIRDWG05&P=R144&I=-3

... and Richard Webster, Peg Abbott, Reed Peters and Rose Ann Rowlett: http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1106E&L=BIRDWG05&P=R1073&I=-3

Further north, the Wallow Fire in the White Mountains of east central Arizona is the largest ever fire in the state. It is now 95% contained but there are still almost a thousand people fighting it.

Monsoon News
It rained in Tucson a couple of nights ago! First time in 81 days. According to the forecast, the monsoon proper should be along in the next week or so. Let's hope it's a good one...

Birding Implications
The Coronado National Forest closures remain in place and will do so until 'significant moisture has been received'. It's anyone's guess what that means but it's likely that some sites will reopen sooner than others, depending on where the rains fall. The forest service stated that some places that have had fires will remain closed until they are safe. After a forest fire there are a variety of hazards, from falling trees to hidden giant holes in the ground where root balls have burnt out. These sites will remain closed longer.

Final plea
Come to Arizona! We need you more than ever. The birding is still great! Most places should be back open again soon and will be fine. Before long, the places that have burnt will be starting to recover, offering new habitat and new wildlife. There will still be places to find all the SE Arizona specialties, although it might take us a while to work it out. But we will, and it remains one of the best areas in North America for birding!

See you soon ;)
 
Agree with Richard's post. We were extremely lucky that the Monument fire was contained as fast as it was. Being a well populated area there were some anxious moments but the firemen did a great job.
Mary Jo opened today, and for the last few days her yard list was almost as long as usual. You do need to email her before going, but it is worth the effort. Have to have a slip of paper to go up to Beatty's, since it is on a closed forest road, but again worth the effort. We've also had some rain the last few days, I expect Ramsey Canyon to open again soon.
I've read the same reports Richard has on the Chiricahua fires, as soon as that is opened from the rains there should be good diversity.
And don't forget we also have the Patagonia area here and although there were a few grassland fires there earlier, none near the "birding meccas" in the town or the nearby state park. We still have plenty to view, and again as Richard said, it is still one of the best places in the states.
Lisa
 
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Sounds like promising developments Lisa, thanks for sharing the latest news. Hopefully the Sierra Vista area will be open again for the beginning of august, when my wife and I are visiting.
I was wondering weather we would get to drive south from Phoenix airport or have to completely re-plan the whole trip!

Thanks
 
Ben,
Easy shot, just get on I-10 east in Phoenix and stay on it to exit 302, then take 90 south into Sierra Vista. Unless the state decides to do some construction it should be a "straight" shot. As areas are open or (hopefully not) closed I'll update on here.
Lisa
 
As can be seen here Beatty's Orchard is going to be closed to visitors until sometime in 2013. They survived the fire, but the monsoon rains really hit them today. Took out or deposited several feet of mud throughout the ranch/orchard. We've just started the monsoon season for us, mountain flooding could be bad.
 
Sad news about Beatty's. On a more encouraging note it's now possible to access Mount Lemmon in Tucson, so that means that most of the forest birds are now doable. In fact I've 'done' most of them over the past couple of days. Was at Paton's this afternoon for a great show of hummers and other birds.
 
Andrew, they are also opening Madera Canyon today (July 11). Should be some good birding in Madera and Proctor road on the way in.
Edit: Just saw this post on the AZ-NM listserve:
On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 5:42 AM, Luis Calvo wrote:

> Madera Canyon opened last night AT midnight per the Ranger that works the
> Canyon. All fire restrictions remain in place. Berylline, Violet-crowned,
> Blue-throated, Broad-billed, Broad-tailed, Black-chinned, Anna's, Costa's,
> Magnificent, and Rufous or Allen's hummingbirds are frequenting the feeders
> and
> flowers at the Chuparosa. Elegant Trogon are still calling and being seen
> from the Kubo on up past the Chuparosa thru the Hopkins Fork of Madera
> Creek
> (Vault Mine Trail). Generally, the birding is excellent. Welcome back.
>
> Luis Calvo
> Chuparosa B & B
> Madera Canyon, AZ
 
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Yet more areas opening which is very good to see. Typically the bulk of the area next to Sierra Vista is still closed (where we are staying for 2 weeks), but good to see Ramsey and Brown Canyons opening again, these are a 5 min drive from the B&B, so glad something is within easy driving range for pre breakfast visits.
Cant wait for our trip now, just hope I am organised and know where I can and cant go!
 
Ramsey Canyon was excellent on Saturday, as were Ash Canyon B&B and Battiste's Bed, Breakfast & Birds, all of which are close to Sierra Vista. Even Beatty's Guest Ranch is sort of available - http://www.beattysguestranch.com/monument_fireflood_info.htm

I've been lucky enough to experience some great birding and wildlife in the Huachucas over the past few weeks:

http://www.funbirdingtours.com/2011/07/16/ramsey-canyon-black-bear/

http://www.funbirdingtours.com/2011/07/16/july-fun-birding-workshop-hummingbird-special/

http://www.funbirdingtours.com/2011/07/10/ash-miller-canyons/

http://www.funbirdingtours.com/2011/07/05/huachuca-mountains-2/
 
Sounds great Richard! I thought Ash Canyon was closed at the moment (according to Coronado National Forest website

"Most of the Sierra Vista Ranger District is now open. The following area remains closed at the Coronado National Forest Boundary starting at Ash Canyon area and north to Carr Canyon area. All roads and trails in the area are closed. Forest road (FR) 59 (Ash Canyon), FR 796 (Stump Canyon), FR 367 (Hunter Canyon), FR 56 (Miller Canyon), FR 386 (Carr Canyon) are closed."

Is ash canyon open as long as you just go straight to the B&B?

It seems odd that they start off by saying most of the Sierra Vista ranger district is open and then go on to list a very large chunk as being still closed.

Looking forward to exploring the areas that are open all the same.
 
I should clarify the situation with Ash Canyon...

Mary Jo Ballator's Ash Canyon B&B is on E Spring Rd, which is off Turkey Track Rd. It's at the foot of the Ash Canyon drainage but it is NOT on Ash Canyon Rd. That road, and access into the canyon itself, is prohibited because it was entirely burnt. Mary Jo was extremely lucky. The fire came to within a few feet of her house but the property survived, just about.

There is an additional ongoing neighbor dispute which adds to the confusion. After a couple of hearings and a lot of bad feeling, the current situation is that Mary Jo can't advertise her property as a birding destination, just a bed and breakfast (for which she has all the permits). However, she is still allowed to have her friends visit her. So just call Mary Jo in advance and make sure it's OK to visit. When you visit, drive very slowly and courteously along Turkey Track Rd. You will then encounter a new gate at the start of Spring Rd that says Private Property. Go through the gate, leaving it as you found it. Park carefully and only in the designated spaces outside Mary Jo's property.

Despite this slightly off-putting set of circumstances, I can't recommend making the effort to visit Mary Jo enough. It's fantastic!

Full details, including phone number, on Mary Jo's website: www.ashcanyonbandb.com
 
Despite this slightly off-putting set of circumstances, I can't recommend making the effort to visit Mary Jo enough. It's fantastic!

Richard is absolutely correct. Mary Jo's has always been a great spot for not only our hummingbirds but other regional specialties, such as the Arizona Woodpecker. Doesn't seem to have changed much since the fire.
 
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