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 The
beauty of the Sonoran Desert in the spring is
magnificent. But the abundant growth of desert
plants creates a great fire danger as they dry out
due to the late spring and summer heat.
A lot of the new growth will begin to dry out
because of the lack of precipitation in the spring.
A dry desert with lots of tinder can burst into
wildfires in the late spring and the early summer
months prior to the monsoons. The wild fire risk
increases dramatically as more and more people move
in to the arid deserts of the Southwest that are
unaccustomed to the explosive nature of wildfires. I
have often heard people say, “Well there is nothing
here to burn on this desert!”
Most wildfires result from two things. One is
lightning and the other is human carelessness.
The lightning caused wild fires usually do not occur
until the summer monsoons in early or mid July, and
most fires prior to the monsoons are usually human
caused. A carelessly tossed cigarette or an
abandoned campfire is usually the culprit.
As we move into summer families are beginning their
summer vacations and outdoor activities. These
activities include backyard cookouts, camping, and
other outdoor activities. Any of these enjoyable
activities can lead to disaster if we are careless
with fire.
I have witnessed many major wild fires in our area
during the past fifty-five years. The first real
wild fire I recall occurred in July of 1949. This
fire raged east of Reavis Ranch for several days
before it was brought under control. Another wild
fire broke out west of Roosevelt Lake in the Pinyon
Mountain area in 1959, and burned several thousand
acres of the Tonto National Forest before it was
contained. Lightning caused these fires.
A fire broke out south of the Reavis Ranch in 1966,
destroying much of the Ponderosa pine in the area.
This fire was known as the Iron Mountain burn and
was attributed to a campfire. The forest service
planted drought-resistant grass in the area to
prevent soil erosion in the area. This grass has
become the climax vegetation in the area and has
become a fire hazard in itself.
 A
large wild fire raged in Needle Canyon in 1969
destroying several thousand acres of desert
landscape. An abandoned campfire was the likely
cause of this wild fire. It was believed the fire
was caused by an old prospector who lived in Needle
Canyon at the time.
I witnessed one of the most dramatic wild fires
observed in this area on the slopes of Superstition
Mountain in July of 1979. This fire raged across the
slopes of Superstition Mountain with a fifty-foot
wall of flame engulfing everything in its path. This
fire was caused when high winds blew over a charcoal
grill in somebody’s yard near the base of the
mountain. One careless neighbor endangered hundreds
of lives and millions of dollars worth of property
as the fire spread over the mountain within an hour.
The smoke was so thick Superstition Mountain was not
visible from State Route 88 (Apache Trail). If it
had not been for the courage of slurry bomber pilots
many homes would have been lost on the slope of
Superstition Mountain that day and lives could have
hung in the balance. Heroic efforts made by members
of the Apache Junction Fire Department prevented
disaster on the slopes of the mountain that summer.
There just wasn’t enough water to fight a fire of
this magnitude.
On July 4, 1983 a major fire raged on the eastern
side of Superstition Mountain destroying several
thousand acres. This fire eventually burned its self
out. Needle Canyon was struck with another wildfire
in March of 1984. This fire burned up the
northeastern side of Bluff Springs Mountain and
eventually burned itself out also. These fires were
more than likely caused by abandoned campfires.
There was a large wildfire in the area of Massacre
Grounds and along the northwestern slopes of
Superstition Mountain in April of 1984. This fire
was contained and in some areas burned its self out.
Several other man-made fires occurred in the
wilderness or around Superstition Mountain from 1984
to1994.
The next big fire to strike the region was the
Geronimo blaze near the Gold Canyon developed area.
This fire started around June 11, 1995 and was
fought for three days. A hundred and twenty
firefighters had it under control by June 13, 1995.
This fire destroyed twenty-three hundred acres and
threatened several homes near Gold Canyon worth more
than a hundred thousand dollars each. This
particular fire produced huge columns of smoke that
could be seen from the Phoenix’s skyscrapers.
This past four or five years has been quiet except
for the Lone Fire on Four Peaks near the end of
April 1996. The Lone fire destroyed almost sixty-two
thousand acres of the Tonto National Forest. To put
this figure in perspective, this would be more than
one third of the Superstition Wilderness Area. This
was one of the most devastating fires on public land
in Arizona during the past twenty-five years.
 As
many of you know this was before the Rodeo-Chediski
fire of 2002 which consumed over 400,000 acres of
public land and several hundred homes. The
Superstition Wilderness experiences some kind of
wild fire almost each summer. On several occasions
the wilderness has been closed for several months
during the summer to camping and hiking because of
fire danger during extremely dry late spring and
summer conditions.
This historical accounting of wild fire in our area
gives you some idea of what a potential fire hazard
the desert can be between late April and mid July.
Precipitation is often a double edged sword. Rain
always brings relief to a dry desert region reducing
fire danger, but it always produces an abundant
growth of brush that can cause more fires.
Precipitation also causes severe erosion in areas
that have been burned and denuded of vegetation.
This in turn destroys our watershed that is a major
source of the water for Salt River Valley. As the
dry season approaches this summer, the fire danger
will escalate bringing dangerous conditions to our
area once again. The State of Arizona has been
suffering a severe drought for the past ten years.
These conditions may continue to prevail for another
decade or so. There is plenty of tinder and
dead-fall to burn on the desert. Once the high
temperatures dry out the tinder, it is like
gasoline. The conditions for wild fires on the
desert are dramatically increased when the region
dries out.
How you take care of fire and open flames at all
times is extremely important and your caution will
protect us all. Smoking should be confined to
automobiles or buildings during extreme fire
conditions. The fighting of a raging wall of fire on
this desert puts each and every firefighter’s life
on the line and also risks the lives and property
others.
Everyone should have a reasonable firebreak around
their home, especially if they live on a large lot
containing a lot of dry tinder. I would like to
encourage everyone to be extremely careful with
matches, cigarettes, outdoor cooking and any other
use of open flames or sparks. Fire safety in the
desert is something we all can practice at all
times. For more information about fire safety around
your home during this critical period please call
the Apache Junction Fire Department. They are the
professionals who can answer your questions. |
