Well … it’s that time of year in the southwest again (and I apologize for the lack of posts and updates).
There are several wildfires burning around Arizona and the following updates are as of late 21-May-2012:
Sunflower Fire – began May 12, 2012 about 30 miles north of Mesa, AZ and 21 miles south of Payson near Sunflower in Tonto National Forest.
- Size: 16,115 acres / Fuels: grass, chaparral, pinyon pine, dense Arizona cypress trees in the southwest corner. Terrain is extremely difficult and dangerous for the 264 fire personnel on the front lines.
- Currently is 43% contained / Estimated containment: July 30th
- So far there are no evacuations but parts of Tonto National Forest are closed. For more information regarding forest recreation sites and fire restrictions, contact the Tonto National Forest at (602) 225-5200, or visit www.fs.usda.gov/tonto, or www.fs.usda.gov/asnf/.
Gladiator Fire – reported May 13 near community of Crown King. The human caused fire which originated from a structure fire on private property has now moved onto the Prescott National Forest.
- Size: 14,693 acres / Fuels: Ponderosa pine and chaparral. Steep terrain and limited access for the 1,160 personnel
- Currently only 19% contained
- An expanded Closure Order is in effect, as of May 20, 2012 at 6 p.m., for all Prescott National Forest and parts of Bradshaw Ranger District land. The public can obtain fire information from Gladiator Fire Information: 928-632-4368 or 928-632-4420 (7am to 10pm) / Prescott National Forest Fire Information Hotline: 928-777-5799 (recorded message) / Gladiator Fire Incident Website: http://www.inciweb.org or http://www.fs.usda.gov/prescott
Bull Flat Fire – began May 10, 2012 in a remote area of the Fort Apache Agency about 20 miles northwest of Cibecue, AZ and is believed to be lightning caused.
- Burned 2,145 acres of grass, brush and a heavy dead and down component left over from the now 10-year-old Chediski Fire.
- Currently is 95% contained.
- The Tonto National Forest Temporary Area Closure for the Bull Flat Fire will remain in effect as posted, until further notice. Both the Tonto National Forest and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest have implemented Stage 1 Fire Restrictions. For more information regarding forest recreation sites and fire restrictions, please contact the Tonto National Forest at (602) 225-5200, or check online at www.fs.usda.gov/tonto, or www.fs.usda.gov/asnf/.
Some other contained and small fires per Inciweb…
- School Canyon Fire (near Tubac / about 7,049 acres with 100% containment)
- Collins Fire (started May 21, 2012 / Location is along Highway 83, Mile Marker 6, approx 3 miles north of Parker Canyon Lake. Approximately 50 acres burning in grass and brush but firefighters are making good progress on containment. Parker Canyon Lake is closed at this time.)
- Campini Fire (west of Montezuma Pass along the Mexican Border. The fire started in Mexico, and has entered the Coronado National Forest. No structures are threatened but it just started and very small so hopefully contained soon.)
The coming monsoon and possible Pacific hurricane moisture will eventually bring much needed rain and higher humidity, but sadly those also bring lightning to a bone dry desert so more wildfires to come.
Also keep in mind… since the long weekend is coming up, many people (esp visitors) across AZ will be hiking and picnicking in our parks and backcountry so please, PLEASE be careful with cigarettes, off-road vehicles (which can sometimes spark), grills and camp fires..!
Some Wildfire Resources:
AZ Emergency Information Network Emergency Bulletins www.azein.gov
Southwest Coordination Center – updates on AZ and NM wildfire incidents http://gacc.nifc.gov/swcc/information/information.htm
Arizona Interagency Wildfire Prevention – news, safety tips, etc http://wildlandfire.az.gov/links.asp
Ready Set Go http://wildlandfirersg.org/
For statewide road conditions and closures visit www.az511.gov or dial 5-1-1 from any landline or mobile phone from anywhere in Arizona. (From outside Arizona, dial 1-888-411-ROAD (7623) or 602-523-0244)
And for those of you living in fire country … check out some Wildfire safety tips on APN forum
Stay safe out there, itsa
For most of the year, the ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) looks like a spiky, dead stick, but come rain and it leafs out profusely. The ocotillo family consists of 13 species confined to the warm and arid regions of North America.
The flowers, when soaked in cold water make a refreshing drink, and the flowers can be used to garnish salads. They usually have a slightly sour taste like lemon. Ocotillo stems are used for house walls, ramada roofs, and fences. Ocotillo stems often take root creating a living fence.
The boojum (Fouquieria columnaris) is a relative of the ocotillo. Boojums are endemic to Baja California and can grow up to 60 feet high. Unlike the ocotillo, the boojum is a succulent. The stem stores water. The stem produces hundreds of non-succulent branches that have spines. Leaves sprout any time moisture is available.
Desert tobacco can be found throughout the Southwest at elevations below 5,000 feet. It favors disturbed ground and desert washes.
The Foothills palo verdes will bloom about two weeks later than the Blues. They tend to have straight upright branches with a yellowish-green color. The trees are usually about 15 feet high but can get up to 40 feet. The leaves are also twice pinnate, about one-tenth of an inch long with about three to five pairs of leaves along two pinnae. The life span is 100 years or more.
The yellow flowers of Palo verde trees are five-petalled. One petal, called the banner petal, stands out above the plane of the other four petals.
The bean pods of the Blue palo verde are flat and the beans resemble small lima beans. They have a slight bitter taste when green. The pods generally contain one or two beans. The pods of the Foothills palo verde contain two to four navy-bean sized beans separated by a very narrow pod neck. These beans are very sweet when picked fresh and eaten raw; the taste is similar to snow peas. The pods of the Mexican palo verde usually contain three to five beans or more. The beans have a slight bitter taste when raw. After a few weeks, the beans of all three species dry out and become hard. They were often harvested in this condition and later ground into meal.
These trees are bee pollinated and you can sometimes see as many as 20 species of bees at the tree at one time. (There are more than 1,000 species of bees in southern Arizona.)
Jojoba, (pronounced ho-ho-bah), Simmondsia chinensis, is an evergreen desert shrub that is usually about five feet high and wide, but can grow up to 10 feet tall. There are male and female plants usually with the ratio of four males to every female in Arizona. Only the female plant bears “fruit.” The leaves of both male and female plants are grayish-green, usually just over one inch long and usually stand vertical to the ground.
clusters. The green female flowers are single. The jojoba is wind-pollinated, and the orientation of the leaves also help create vortexes in the wind which aid in pollination. Flowers appear in winter and the mature seeds develop in spring and summer. Mature seeds in their shell resemble acorns, so they are sometimes called nuts.
not regard the seeds as food, but used it in emergencies as an appetite suppressant. It has a strong laxative effect in humans. According to WebMd, jojoba “oil” is also used effectively for acne, psoriasis, sunburn, and chapped skin. In the early 1700s, it was brought to Spain and promoted as a cure for baldness, but there is no evidence that it works for that purpose.
This is the time of year when saguaros bloom and produce fruit. For many generations the Tohono O’odham people have harvested the fruit using long poles made of saguaro ribs. The fruit may be eaten raw or it may be cooked down to a sweet syrup. In the O’odham tradition, some of the syrup was fermented into wine used in a ceremony to herald in the summer monsoon. Dried seeds from the fruit, up to 5,000 per fruit, are rich in protein and fat and can be ground into meal.
A cylinder of 13 to 20 woody ribs occur near the center of the cactus stem, running the length of the main stem and branching into the arms. In the upper part of the stem, the ribs are separate; as the stem ages the ribs continue to grow and fuse into a latticed cylinder. The outside of these woody ribs contain the vascular, or water transporting, part of the plant.
