Wallow Fire Closures

Davis2001R6 · Joined: 12 Dec 2003 Posts: 5591 Location: Italy

Good luck Elizabeth, hope your place is ok from fire and looters. I wish I could send some of this Italy rain your guys way, rained daily for about a week now.
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azbackpackr · Posted: 6/8/2011, 7:02 pm Post subject:

Thanks very much. We are safe at my place in Flagstaff after being evacuated in the first wave from Eagar yesterday. I drove down there to help out and we ended up getting evacuated! They are evacuating the rest of it now.

Rumor has it that the firefighters had to be pulled out of Greer and it is "engulfed." Time will tell.

I will be among the first ones to drive the roads when they open. It may be like seeing your lover in an open casket at the funeral home, but that is what I will do.

Trishness · Posted: 6/9/2011, 6:47 pm Post subject:

This is just so tragic. I LOVE the White Mountains and only get up there a few times each summer but I can't imagine this happening in my "backyard".

T
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~~~Trish~~~

"Eastward the dawn rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight into guess; it was no more than a glimmer blending with the hem of the sky, but it spoke to them, out of the memory and old tales, of the high and distant mountains." � J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings.

sam_hikes · Joined: 07 Apr 2003 Posts: 383

Looks like Greer has lost the most so far as of Thurs 6pm meeting...

The property damage has been assessed in the community of Greer. In total, 22 homes lost, 5 damaged, 24 out-buildings, and 1 vehicle. Apache County Sheriff's Officials are in the process of notifying the property owners.

They also mentioned residents of Eager & Springerville MAY be allowed to return on Sat morning... I'm not sure I'd bank on that but there's hope but this fire storm is far from being over with Reservation Lake, Baldy, and Sunrise still under the gun not to mention the vast other fronts.

azbackpackr · Posted: 6/9/2011, 8:30 pm Post subject:

I hear they may let us go back on Sat. if everything goes as they hope. They reassured us at a meeting (I only read text of meeting) that no looting has occurred, and they have very intensive patrols to prevent it.

Greer has lost 22 homes. South Fork area has lost no homes, but I fear to see the trail... Also they said reports of dead animals (hundreds of elk and cattle) were greatly exaggerated. Who knows? Eagar has lost no homes. Alpine and Nutrioso, I don't think any figures given yet for those areas as to homes lost.

azbackpackr · Posted: 6/9/2011, 8:39 pm Post subject:

Hi, Sam, I guess we posted simultaneously!

Erock · Joined: 07 Aug 2006 Posts: 87 Location: Taylor

Some promising news out of the meeting. A link in case anyone is interested:

http://www.wmicentral.com/news/latest_news/wallow-fire-update-p-m-june-meeting-structures-lost-in/article_a9c6696e-9301-11e0-8300-001cc4c002e0.html

azbackpackr · Posted: 6/10/2011, 6:04 am Post subject:

Yes, they might let us go home soon. And maybe not so many dead elk as the firefighters reported? (If they try to remove them and say they weren't there, everyone in town will hear about it...)

wanderingsoul · Joined: 19 Jul 2004 Posts: 2285 Location: Gilbert AZ

Elizabeth crossing my fingers for you that all is well back at your place.

Wished it would be that way for all, but doesn't seem so. Hopefully all the patroling going on will ease some fear for all concerning looting.
That is a shame. It is enough to have to worry if the fire will get the home and shouldn't have to worry about looting too!. That is unfortunate Rolling Eyes

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azbackpackr · Posted: 6/12/2011, 7:47 am Post subject:

Yeah. 500 people signed releases in Round Valley (Springerville-Eagar) and stayed. A friend of ours called who stayed. He was fine. They cannot set foot off their property if they sign the release. Then, if they change their minds they have to flag down a cop and get an escort.

It is looking hopeful today. We are hoping that they will announce today or tomorrow that they will let us back in.

Trishness · Posted: 6/12/2011, 1:39 pm Post subject:

Happy to see that residents of Eagar and Springerville can start going back home! That will hopefully lift some of the emotional stress all those displaced people have had over the last week
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~~~Trish~~~

"Eastward the dawn rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight into guess; it was no more than a glimmer blending with the hem of the sky, but it spoke to them, out of the memory and old tales, of the high and distant mountains." � J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings.

azbackpackr · Posted: 6/13/2011, 6:51 am Post subject:

I'm back in Eagar now. It's pretty smokey. Flat Top did not burn. I am hoping that Water Canyon (Overland Trail) and South Fork Trail #67 only had ground burns, but they sure did burn. They did backburning all through there, so maybe kept it on the ground.

People are glad to be home. The smoke is worse in the mornings.

Open hiking areas are the state lands, the White Mtn. Grasslands Area MIGHT be open (I will go see today) and possibly Wenima Wildlife Area as well. The miles and miles of great mtn. biking in the grasslands area mostly open, I think. The problem is the smoke. Once that goes away, they will not reopen the burned areas right away of course. So, I will ride my bike in the grasslands, and hike to the tops of all the cinder hills. They are very steep!

azbackpackr · Posted: 6/17/2011, 7:40 am Post subject:

South Fork Trail, up behind the South Fork Campground west of Eagar, may have been more or less just a ground fire. Some tree torching visible from 260, but not much. I was able to drive to the campground and help out some firefighters who were unsure of directions--they had only a crummy little map. They were going to mop up and also maybe cut out some trees that had fallen across the trail. No damage I could see at campground (one of the nicest in AZ, with a creek running right through the middle of it.) Steep hillsides burnt only on the ground. Then back to 260, from a vantage point where I could look up the canyon, I could see a lot of green treetops, with one swath of torched trees cutting down one side of the canyon and up the other side. The canyon is long, though, and I could look up it only a couple of miles, whereas it is quite a few miles long, and starts up at FR 409. (The trail does not go that far, though. It goes only about 4 miles up along the creek. There is also a fork in the trail about 2 miles up that goes to Mexican Hay Lake.)

Escudilla is totally torched. Nothing but sticks left up there, from the photo I saw. I am awaiting word on Fish Creek, Bear Creek, Bear Wallow Creek, Conklin Creek, and Black River. All of these are near the fire's source, and I think they burned very hot. Crying or Very sad

I have a friend who is a fisheries biologist who has been brought in from Oregon, who used to work the Alpine District, to evaluate all the creeks and watersheds. He is being brought in because he is one of few people who really know those watersheds. He is going to be flying over all of it. I hope to find out more later about that area south and west of Hannagan Meadow.

sam_hikes · Joined: 07 Apr 2003 Posts: 383

ASNF is suppose to reopen some key areas to hiking this weekend... News flash due tomorrow.

azbackpackr · Posted: 7/14/2011, 10:50 am Post subject:

Well, I'm waiting. It's still early in the day. Nothing so far has been announced.