Fires In The Gila, And Elsewhere

John E-Mailed with agitated news:

GLENWOOD, N.M. (KRQE) - Firefighters facing high winds and hostile terrain are recommending campers and seasonal residents clear out of Willow Creek in the Gila National Forest.

In addition to the precautionary evacuation of Willow Creek, firefighters themselves have pulled back for their own safety.

The fire first detected on May 16 was estimated at 1,000 acres Tuesday morning, but that was before Red Flag conditions set in.

..."The fire remains at zero percent containment as firefighters are unable to directly suppress the fire due to extreme fire behavior.

...Late Tuesday the National Weather Service forecast office in El Paso, Texas, warned of smoke from the fire spreading over southern New Mexico and into far west Texas during the night. The strong winds are forecast to become southwesterly on on Wednesday blowing the smoke into central New Mexico.

John added:

Hi Marc,
I'm sure you have already heard about this fire. The Gila high country was largely spared in the huge fires last year but now it is burning out of control. This is an area where my son and I have backpacked two times. We had planned on going last summer but fire closures prevented the trip. It is the area where we came across a recent plane crash which I told you about in 2008. I hope that the Forest Service cabin which we stayed in was spared but a fire of this sort does not miss much. Dyer posted some pictures of an area around Hummingbird Gap on his blog; I'm almost positive that area was burned.

The forests of southwest New Mexico are rapidly disappearing. I would like to believe that it is a natural cycle and that those forests will be renewed in a generation or two. But I have a feeling that that may not be the case. Those forests were in a marginal ecological niche and with the normal climate now hotter and drier--well, it may just become (very) high desert.

John

I replied:

Hi John:

No, I actually hadn’t heard about this fire (I’m living in my own la-la California land at the moment). I did hear about similar Arizona fires, but only vague headlines. Thanks for catching my attention.

I have my doubts about the long-term forest health in Arizona too. Too many fire-prone people are “recreatin’” in bone-dry forests to avoid long-term problems.

Starting about April 1st, I notice that La Niña is finally, seriously beginning to give up its way-too-persistent ghost. I don’t know if El Niño will be that much better, but at least it will be different, and that might give the battered SW a chance to recover. Tropical Storm Bud is recurving into the Mexican coast, the sort of pattern you normally see late in summer, not at the beginning. I don’t know if it’s good (maybe a few showers for Texas), but at least it’s different.

Marc

But of course, New Mexico and Arizona are not the only places with fire problems: California and Nevada too:

A 6,600-acre Nevada wildfire burning near the California border was caused by people, fire officials announced Wednesday.

...The wildfire started about 2 p.m. Tuesday and quickly spread through the rural Topaz Lake area, about 60 miles south of Reno. At least two homes and 17 structures, including barns and garages, had been destroyed as of late Wednesday afternoon, Ayers said.

Change, weather, change!