Florida Fire Archive: Articles by George West
July 16, 2005: The Florida Fire that started as a lightning strike on the upper east side of the Santa Rita Mountains on July 7, 2005 has now spread to over 22,500 acres. By July 15, it had crossed the ridge and was coming down the west side below Florida Saddle. It came almost to the University of Arizona’s Experimental Range headquarters, to the fields south of the road to the Experiment Station, up to the Madera Canyon Road to the west where back burns were initiated. Strings of fire were seen daily from Green Valley on the mountain side towards Mt. Wrightson. The fire spread to Josephine Saddle and up towards the Smithsonian Institution’s Fred Whipple Observatory on Mt. Hopkins. It also came down the ridge towards the new trailhead parking area and threatened private homes at the head of the canyon. However, the fire fighters placed sprinklers around those houses and maintained a tanker truck nearby in case the fire got too close. So far, no structures have been burned. The fire is about 60 per cent contained, but with the rains early this week and the prediction of monsoon storms the remainder of the week, the fire crews expect to have the fire 80 to 90% contained by the weekend. The threat to the observatory telescopes on Mt. Hopkins has been reduced in part by the rains and damp nighttime weather, and the lack of heat from burns down hill from the peak.
FOMC continues to monitor USFS fire operations in the Canyon and is concerned for Madera Canyon’s future once all the fire fighters have moved on to the next blaze. FOMC understands that the Canyon’s ecology must be monitored to insure that a fire remediation plan is implemented. Otherwise, there will be no way to measure the Canyon’s recovery from this devastating fire. We expect that many of the popular trails will be closed for some time as crews assess the potential for burned trees falling across the trails. With the monsoon rains, the FS will be concerned about washing of soil and debris downhill into Madera Creek. FOMC is also concerned with erosion control in the canyon and with mediation and recovery plans for the forest after the fire. We are also interested in how the wildlife was affected by the fire – from large mammals to birds and insects. Ongoing monitoring studies of hummingbird populations at the Chuparosa Inn will be continued as we have a good baseline of three years without fire to compare with post fire data. We expect to map the recovery of flowering plants after the fire, especially those that produce nectar for the hummingbirds. Other studies will be proposed.
FOMC is sponsoring a community forum to discuss Madera Canyon’s future. USFS personnel and others concerned with forest fire recovery will be on hand to provide detailed information and examine the Florida Fire’s impact on the Santa Ritas and Madera Canyon.
The FOMC Community Forum will be held on Friday, August 5, 2005 at 9:00 AM at the Green Valley Recreation’s West Social Center located at 1111 Via Arco Iris, east of La Cañada between Continental Road and Paseo del Prado. If you live in the area, please plan to attend and show your support for Madera Canyon.
July 11, 2005: The Florida Fire that started as a lightning strike of a dead snag on the upper east side of the Santa Rita Mountains on July 7, 2005 has now spread to almost 20,000 acres. The fire was initially concentrated on the east side near Florida Peak but has now spread all along the ridge from there to Mt. Wrightson and over the ridge to the west side down to behind the U of Arizona Experimental Range headquarters, above the Bog Springs Campground, and up to Josephine Saddle. The fire is moving downhill from Josephine Saddle and is now about two miles above the highest residence. All residences in the canyon were evacuated on July 14. A fire line and backburns along the west side have helped control the fire so that it did not destroy buildings of the Experimental Range and so far has not spread down to the Kent Spring Center or to any homes along Madera Canyon Road, although it is only about one-quarter of a mile from the road in some places. Sprinkler systems and fire crews with tanker trucks have been set up at each home. The fire is about 40 per cent contained.
It will be several days before we know how far the fire has actually reached into the Canyon. FOMC is carefully monitoring USFS fire operations in the Canyon. More importantly, FOMC is concerned for Madera Canyon’s future, once all the fire fighters have moved on to the next blaze. FOMC understands that the Canyon’s ecology must be monitored to insure that a fire remediation plan is implemented. Otherwise, there will be no way to measure the Canyon’s recovery from this devastating fire.
FOMC is sponsoring a community forum to discuss Madera Canyon’s future. USFS personnel and others concerned with forest fire recovery will be on hand to provide detailed information and examine the Florida Fire’s impact on the Santa Ritas and Madera Canyon.
The FOMC Community Forum will be held on Friday, August 5, 2005 at 9:00 AM at the Green Valley Recreation’s West Social Center located at 1111 Via Arco Iris, east of La Cañada between Continental Road and Paseo del Prado. If you live in the area, please plan to attend and show your support for Madera Canyon.
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