[californiadisasters] Off-Topic: Wallow Fire Update #1

Arizona's Wallow Fire at 389,000 acres is not only now the second largest fire in that state's history after 2002's Rodeo-Chediski Fire which burned 468,000 acres further to the west in the same contiguous stand of ponderosa pine forest, the largest such in the world, but a 0% containment with each day's acreage jump now being in excess of 50,000 acres and today featuring another Red Flag Warning with the expectation of more extreme fire behavior (major runs of crown fire, fire tornadoes, spot fires up to 3 miles distant from the leading edge of the fire, pyrocumulus clouds up to 30,000 feet in height) it seems this fire is a cinch to become Arizona's largest fire within a day or two.

Fortunately, unlike the Rodeo-Chediski Fire which burned several hundred homes the Wallow Fire has thus far managed to only burn about a dozen structures but it also has not necessarily finished with Alpine and Springerville and also has yet to go through many of the places it will undoubtedly yet burn through so this story may yet get much uglier.

Arizona's 4th largest fire ever is still burning to the south of the Wallow Fire and is named the Horseshoe 2 Fire and has burned 106,000 acres with 50% containment.

Arizona's five largest fires have occurred in just the past 9 years in spite of the fact that during that time firefighting technology and tactics have been the best they have ever been. Clearly something has changed in both Arizona's forests (inevitable outcome of keeping natural fire out of the natural environment to too great a degree for too long) as well as a changing climate towards hotter and dryer). When this happened during an earlier time the Anasazi Civilization of that region did not survive. Will our's?

Wallow Fire and Horseshoe Fire Links:

Hotlist:

http://wildlandfire.com/hotlist/showthread.php?t=18770

http://wildlandfire.com/hotlist/showthread.php?t=18280

Inciweb:

http://www.inciweb.org/incident/article/2262/11641/

http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2225/

Live Satellite imagery showing Wallow Fire (during daylight hours):

http://sat.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/loopsat.php?wfo=fgz&area=west&type=vis&size=1

Live Radar loop showing convection columns over Wallow Fire:

http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?rid=fsx&product=NCR&overlay=11101111&loop=yes

Arizona Large Fire Map:

http://gacc.nifc.gov/swcc/predictive/intelligence/admin/maps/wf/swa_fire_az.htm

Kim Patrick Noyes
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