Fires in AZ (Tucson, Show Low, Steamboat: 2015, house, campers)

[BobMane]

Hello
We are getting hit hard in the NW this year. How is AZ doing? By the way...is our smoke coming down as far as AZ?

[observer53]

No, it's not. So sorry for all the trouble you are having.

We have had a fairly light season. One good sized fire over in the NW corner, and a few other smaller ones. Lucky so far. Probably means some firefighters from here are up in your area.

[BobMane]

Thanks, is the fire season usually mild in greater AZ?

[observer53]

No, we've had some very bad ones in the past, but there's been enough rain in some of the fire prone areas up north to keep things at bay a little- but some of it is just luck -- where the lightning is, or isn't, and whether we have careless campers or smokers in the wrong places. (or, people who light signal fires because they are lost, or start a fire because they want to be hired as a fireman, and start two fires that merged into a giant conflagration-- See "Rodeo-Chedeski" fire in AZ several years ago.)

[BobMane]

I got it thanks!

[LordBalfor]

One thing to keep in mind is that (unlike the Pacific Northwest) this time of year is the "wet" time of year in these parts. The worse time for fires here is late spring. Of the 10 worse fires in AZ history, only 1 started in July (and none later). May and June are the worst months.

10 worst wildfires in modern Arizona history – Cronkite News

Ken

[jamies]

I don't know, we have been getting a lot of smoke from somewhere in NW AZ. All the way to Colorado.

I thought WA was wet? We were thinking of a summer home there - you know a place to spend August 15th...

We just had a bad fire here by the Colorado River, a number of homes were burned up. Who knew cactus and sage brush could catch fire.

Hope the fires stop for you.

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by jamies

I don't know, we have been getting a lot of smoke from somewhere in NW AZ. All the way to Colorado.

I thought WA was wet? We were thinking of a summer home there - you know a place to spend August 15th...

We just had a bad fire here by the Colorado River, a number of homes were burned up. Who knew cactus and sage brush could catch fire.

Hope the fires stop for you.

The PNW is divided into 2 distinct regions - west of the Cascades - which is generally wet and green, and east of the Cascades- which is desert (Moses Lake Wa typically gets 1/3 less rainfall than Tucson).

Even on the west (ie wet) side of the Cascades there is a dry time. Summers are typically rain-free and so between July and September there is a pretty great chance of forest fires (lots and lots and lots of vegetation all drying out).

Take a look at these photos of Steamboat Rock in Eastern Washington - pure desert (with a man-made lake):

https://www.google.com/search?q=stea...IVi-CACh2icgOq

Now look at these photos of the Hoh Rainforest in Western Wa:

https://www.google.com/search?q=hoh+...FYafgAod_0sM2w

Same state - one east of the Cascades, one west of the Cascades

Ken

[GraceKrispy]

or, people who light signal fires because they are lost, or start a fire because they want to be hired as a fireman, and start two fires that merged into a giant conflagration-- See "Rodeo-Chedeski" fire in AZ several years ago.

A fire I will never forget! Lived in Show Low at the time, evacuated with my two very young children (3mo, 21mo), came to terms with losing everything... and came back to an intact house that smelled strongly of smoke. Got the t-shirt (I survived the Rodeo Chedeski fire!)