#WallowFire SENATE AD HOC TASK FORCE ON FOREST MANAGEMENT 2011

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

INTERIM MEETING NOTICE

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

 SENATE AD HOC TASK FORCE ON FOREST MANAGEMENT 2011

   
Date:              Thursday, June 30, 2011
Time:             1:00 P.M.

Place:            Show Low High School
                        500 West Old Linden (Auditorium)
                        Show Low, AZ 85901

AGENDA

1.	Welcome
2.	Introduction of Committee Members
3.	Speakers ·         Jack Husted, Commissioner, Arizona Game & Fish Commission ·         Dave Garrett, Former Dean, Northern Arizona University School of Forestry ·         Ethan Aumack, Grand Canyon Trust ·         Todd Schulke, Center for Biological Diversity ·         Dr. Alex Thal, Southwest Center for Resource Analysis, Western New Mexico College ·         Ralph Pope, Southwest Native Ecosystem LLC ·         Basilio "Bas" Aja, Executive Vice President, AZ Cattle Feeders' Association ·         Al Medina, Arizona Fire Reclamation Team ·         David Tenney, President, AZ Board of Supervisors Association
4.	Call to the Public
5.	Next Meeting

Members:

Senator Sylvia Allen, Chair
Senator John Nelson, CoChair
Senator Frank Antenori
Senator Gail Griffin
Senator Al Melvin
Senator Steve Pierce
Senator Steve Smith

6/27/11
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Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation such as a sign language interpreter, by contacting the
Senate Secretary's Office: (602)926-4231 

#WallowFire - final post

This morning's map was the final emergency post on the Wallow Fire.  Further fire information will be posted down the line as the fire is analyzed and new data becomes available, but I will not be posting regular morning updates on the Wallow Fire from this point on  unless there is a major flare-up.  We feel that there are abundant other sources for information about the Las Conchas fire available, so no need for us to duplicate.

If you sign up using the email subscription box on the right, you will receive notices when I post new information to this blog.

#WallowFire IR and cloud cover map from 06/28/11 night flyover
Click on map to enlarge

Wallow fire IR map and cloud cover from 06/28 flyover

IR map size: 538,049 acres
Growth: none

IR flyover comment:
There is a lone heat source southwest of the fire just 1.5 miles inside the Forest boundary and the Arizona state line at the top of Keller Canyon at -109 4' 8.8", 33 28' 36.4".
There is still a lot of residual heat at the top of the drainage above KP Cienega Campground below the ridge and Route 666.  There is no intense heat polygon because there was just a few areas of scattered heat and isolated heat sources.  The perimeter did not change.

#LasConchas IR map from 06/27/11 2313MDT

#LasConchas IR map from 06/27/11 2313MDT
Click on map to enlarge

• Size: 61,022 acres
• Growth: 17,399

Las Conchas IR map from 06/27/11 flyover

Comments from IR flyover:

There is a lot of heat within this perimeter, with active growth in the north, southwest and east.  Several isolated heat sources were identified on the northern and eastern flanks. The interior of the fire has a lot of scattered heat with intense heat leading the edges of the fire.

#WallowFire soil burn severity map [CORRECTED]

#WallowFire soil burn severity map [CORRECTED]
Click on map to enlarge

Wallow Fire soil burn severity map

Sorry I put up the wrong map this morning

#WallowFire IR & SF drainage basin maps from 06/27/11 2249PDT

#WallowFire IR & SF drainage basin maps from 06/27/11 2249PDT
Click on maps to enlarge

• Size: 538,049 acres
• Growth: 1 acre

Wallow IR map from 06/27/11 2249 PDT flyover

Wallow Fire burn severity SF River drainage basin (06/25/11)

IR flyover comments:

There is still a lot of residual heat at the top of the drainage above KP Cienega Campground below the ridge and Route 666.  There was still a little active fire in the Stray Horse area on the southern tip.  This was a a pocket of heat at the top of Lengthy Canyon on the east side of the creek away from the perimeter where it was burning last night.  The only growth of the fire was along Fishhook Creek.  There was a pocket of heat along Foote Creek just up-river fron Balke Crossing above the Blue River.  Quite a different fire than a few days ago.

There were three isolated heat sources outside the west edge of the fire on the shore of Drift Fence Lake which is about a mile away from Reservation Ranch (and bull farm [map calls it the Insemination Station]).  There was also an isolated heat source 4 miles south of the fire just southeast of Honeymoon Camp Ground at -109 27' 58.6", 33 27' 42.9".

#LasConchas fire IR & Ownership maps 06/27/11

#LasConchas fire IR & Ownership maps 06/27/11
Click on maps to enlarge

From IR log comments:
06/27/2011 0400

This was the first look at the fire with no other initial perimeter to go on. Rough perimeter posted at 0500, then rest of shapefiles plus new perimeter posted later. On NE edge intense heat is 0.3 miles from Water Canyon and Ponderosa Campground.

Area of Intense heat in Frijoles Canyon just south of Burnt Mesa.

On SE edge of fire Intense heat in Capulin Canyon, Intense heat has reached San Miguel ruins, Sanchez Canyon, Eagle Canyon, and Cochiti Canyon, and up on to Horn Mesa.

On SW edge, intense heat is almost to Woodard Ridge.

West edge of fire is 0.3 miles from Los Griegos and 0.7 miles from Cerro Pelado Lookout.

On Northern edge, heat has crossed North of Route 4 just East of Las Conchas Campground but still south of East Fork of the Jemez. Mostly the heat is south of Route 4.

Isolated heat sources north of burnout are suspect and should be checked.

Springerville - Eagar fireworks cancelled

Springerville-Eagar Chamber of Commerce:
The county sheriff's department has cancelled the fireworks display that had been scheduled for Saturday July 2.

Survey

If you haven't already, please complete the survey for this blog.  Click here or use the WALLOW FIRE SURVEY link in the column to the right.

Thank you!

#WallowFire Progression map from 06/26/11 flyover

#WallowFire Progression map from 06/26/11 flyover
Click on map to enlarge

Wallow fire progression map from 06/26/11 flyover

#WallowFire small IR map from 06/26/11 PM flyover

#WallowFire small IR map from 06/26/11 PM flyover
Burned area: 538,048 acres
Growth: 5 acres

Wallow Fire IR map from 06/26/11 flyover

IR interpretation comments:

There is still a lot of residual heat at the top of the drainage above KP Cienega Campground below the ridge and Route 666. d. There was still a little active fire in the Stray Horse area on the southern tip. There was a a pocket of heat at the top of Lengthy Canyon on the east side of the creek away from the perimeter. The only growth of the fire was into Twin Springs Canyon. There was intense heat in this area and a lot of residual heat where it burned last night. The rest of the fire was pretty quiet including the arm north of Luna. Using the AllZones perimeter dated 2011/06/26 at 11:13, I made one island larger and got rid of several others. The overall affect was a net gain of only 5 acres to the entire fire.

#WallowFire acreage 06/26/11 morning

#WallowFire acreage 06/26/11 morning

• Size: 538,043 acres total
• New Mexico: 15,407 acres
• Percent Contained: 77%

Evacuation for the Blue River community has been lifted for local residents only

#WallowFire photo - NOT a healthy forest fire

#WallowFire photo - NOT a healthy forest fire

Wallow Fire photo by Jason Coil

The kind of fire like this, one that burns everything including tree tops (crown fire), is not a "healthy" forest fire.  It is not a fire that trees, wildlife or forage benefits from, because fires like this kill everything they burn and they sterilize the soil.

We cannot go back to "pre-human" days for forests, since they have grown to today's condition over centuries of use by humans.  Pre-human" times were different times - different climate, different animal and plant species.  There is no going back.

Given the current unhealthy state of forests of the Southwest that end up with catastrophic wildfires like the Wallow Fire, we need a change in forest management.  Please let your state and federal legislators know that you want a change in forest management and you want it now.

Locate your NM legislator:  http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/districts.aspx
Locate your US legislator:
Senate  http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
House  https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

#WallowFire Situation Report from 6/25/2011 1700

#WallowFire Situation Report 6/25/2011 1700

Wallow SWAC	AZ-ASF-110152-SWAC	Type: WF	Start: 05/29/2011 1330	Cause: U	Priority:
Overhead Team Name: Bill Waterbury		Organization: Area Command			Local:	GACC:
Size: 537,408 ACRES % Cnt/MMA: 77 % Est Contain: NR Latitude: 33° 36´ 7" Longitude: 109° 26´ 56"
Location: 23 miles southwest of Alpine, AZ $$ Costs to Date: $95,890,508
Structures Threatened: 218 PRIM , 39 COMM , 128 OUTB Structures Destroyed: 32 PRIM , 4 COMM , 36 OUTB
Resources Committed:	Total Personnel: 2,347		Report Date: Jun 25, 2011 1700
Agency CRW1 CRW2 HEL1 HEL2 HEL3 ENGS OVHD BIA 2 9 0 0 0 6 62 BLM 0 0 0 0 2 19 35 CNTY 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 FWS 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 NPS 0 0 0 0 0 1 14 OTHR 0 0 0 0 0 2 42 PRI 0 1 0 0 0 14 32 ST 1 1 0 0 0 17 111 USFS 11 18 6 4 2 74 306 WXW 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Significant Events: Zone 1: Crews continued dozer line rehab and fire suppression repair work. Public meeting in Eagar. Zone 2: Resources successfully held constructed Strayhorse drainage and kept the fire north of Blue Ridge Creek. At 0800 hours today, the evacuation status for the Blue River area was changed from mandatory to area open to residents only. Zone 3: Mop-up, patrol, and rehab. Remarks: Zone 1: Continue to demobilize excess resources. Zone 2: New Mexico Congressman Pearce visited Zone 2 ICP and portions of Branch VIII. Contingency planning is in progress to address concerns on the southern portion of the fire. Hwy 191 remains closed from Alpine mile marker 176 to north of Clifton mile marker 253. Have a critical need to replace Type 3 engines and IH Crews that are timing out. Zone 3: None. Observed Fire Behavior: Zone 1: Continued smoldering in heavy fuels with small areas of isolated ground fire well within containment lines. Zone 2: In the Blue River drainage interior burnout continued but no significant fire behavior occurred due to aerial suppression efforts. In the Luna area only scattered heat and smoldering was observed. Zone 3: Smoldering, creeping, and backing. Planned Actions: Zone 1: Mop-up and rehabilitation work. Team will continue with plans to transfer the fire back to the forest at 0600 on June 27th. Zone 2: In the Blue River drainage resources will continue to strengthen and hold constructed line. Resources will continue construction of indirect line and prepare for burnout from E. Hwy 191 toward the Primitive Area boundary in the Strayhorse drainage area. Resources will patrol Alpine and west of Luna along Road 19 and 180, San Francisco River and JJ Ranch. Zone 3: Continue mop-up, patrol, and rehabilitation.

Wallow Zone 1	AZ-ASF-110152-1	Type: WF	Start: 05/29/2011 1330	Cause: U	Priority:
Overhead Team Name: Norm Walker		Organization: Type 2 Team			Local:	GACC:
Size: 537,408 ACRES % Cnt/MMA: 95 % Est Contain: NR Latitude: 33° 36´ 7" Longitude: 109° 26´ 56"
Location: Alpine, AZ $$ Costs to Date: $41,308,016
Structures Threatened: 200 PRIM , 35 COMM , 100 OUTB Structures Destroyed: 32 PRIM , 36 OUTB
Resources Committed:	Total Personnel: 462		Report Date: Jun 25, 2011 1630
Agency CRW1 CRW2 HEL1 HEL2 HEL3 ENGS OVHD BIA 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 BLM 0 0 0 0 0 6 14 DDQ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 LGR 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 NPS 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 PRI 0 0 0 0 1 0 20 ST 0 0 0 0 0 5 59 USFS 0 2 0 0 0 9 103 WXW 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Significant Events: Crews continued with the extensive rehabilitation of dozer lines and fire suppression repair work. Public meeting in Eagar. Remarks: Incident will continue with the demobilization of excess resources that are timing out, reassigning resources to other zones and supporting other incidents within the region. Lighter winds are allowing firefighters to make good progress with mop-up operations while other crews continued with suppression repair. Observed Fire Behavior: Continued smouldering of heavy fuels with small areas of isolated ground fire well within containment lines. Planned Actions: Crews will continue to mop up and securing fireline. Other resources will be continuing to conduct fire rehabilitation work including chipping along road sides and seeding dozer line with native seed. The team will continue with plans to transfer the fire back to the forest 6/27 at 0600hrs.

Wallow Zone 2	AZ-ASF-110152-2	Type: WF	Start: 05/29/2011 1330	Cause: U	Priority:
Overhead Team Name: Jeanne Pincha-Tulley		Organization: Type 1 Team			Local:	GACC:
Size: 537,408 ACRES % Cnt/MMA: 48 % Est Contain: NR Latitude: 33° 36´ 7" Longitude: 109° 26´ 56"
Location: Alpine, Arizona $$ Costs to Date: $33,906,867
Structures Threatened: 17 PRIM , 2 COMM , 26 OUTB Structures Destroyed: NONE
Resources Committed:	Total Personnel: 1,572		Report Date: Jun 25, 2011 1700
Agency CRW1 CRW2 HEL1 HEL2 HEL3 ENGS OVHD BIA 2 4 0 0 0 0 10 BLM 0 0 1 0 1 13 15 CNTY 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 FWS 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 LGR 0 0 0 0 0 2 15 NPS 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 PRI 0 1 7 0 2 13 5 ST 1 0 0 0 0 12 42 USFS 10 16 0 0 1 63 139 WXW 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Significant Events: Resources successfully held constructed line in Branch VI and VIII and kept the fire north of Blue Ridge Creek. At 0800 hours today, the evacuation status for the Blue River area was changed from mandatory to area open to residents only. Remarks: New Mexico Congressman Pearce visited Zone 2 ICP and portions of Branch VIII. Reported acres in box 15 reflect Arizona 521,819 and New Mexico 15,407. Contingency planning is in progress to address concerns on the southern portion of the fire. Hwy 191 remains closed from Alpine mile marker 176 to north of Clifton mile marker 253. Percent contained as listed in Box 16 is calculated based on direct line construction. Since the Branch VIII strategy is to go indirect, e.g., along the Blue River drainage, the actual percent contained, based on this strategy, is higher than is reported. For this reason, the percent contained remained at 48%, even though resources made good progress with containment in Branch VI. Observed Fire Behavior: In Branch VIII, interior burnout continued but no significant fire behavior occurred due to aerial suppression efforts. In Branch VI only scattered heat and smoldering was observed. Planned Actions: In Branch VIII, resources will continue to strengthen and hold constructed line. Resources will continue construction of indirect line and prepare for burnout in Div. P from E. Hwy 191 toward the Primitive Area boundary in the Strayhorse drainage area. In Branch VI resources will patrol Alpine and west of Luna along Road 19 and 180, San Francisco River and JJ Ranch.

Wallow Zone 3 West	AZ-ASF-110152-3	Type: WF	Start: 05/29/2011 1330	Cause: U	Priority:
Overhead Team Name: Mark Rapp		Organization: Type 2 Team			Local:	GACC:
Size: 527,774 ACRES % Cnt/MMA: 100 % Est Contain: 06/25/2011 Latitude: 33° 36´ 7" Longitude: 109° 26´ 56"
Location: 23 miles SW of Alpine, AZ $$ Costs to Date: $20,675,625
Structures Threatened: 1 PRIM , 2 COMM , 2OUTB Structures Destroyed: NONE
Resources Committed:	Total Personnel: 313		Report Date: Jun 25, 2011 1600
Agency CRW1 CRW2 HEL1 HEL2 HEL3 ENGS OVHD BIA 0 3 0 0 0 5 49 BLM 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 FWS 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 NPS 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 OTHR 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 PRI 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 ST 0 1 0 0 0 0 10 USFS 1 0 0 2 1 2 64 WXW 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Significant Events: Mop-up, patrol and rehab continues. Remarks: Observed Fire Behavior: Smoldering, creeping and backing. Planned Actions: Continue mop-up, patrol and rehab.

Note: the above information has been copied and pasted directly from the GACC website situation report.