Wallow Fire

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Wallow Fire
File:Wallow NASA modis 6-08-11.jpg
NASA satellite image, June 8, 2011, at 1:25 PM MDT
Location Arizona/New Mexico
Statistics
Date(s) May 29, 2011[1] - July 8, 2011 (MDT)
Burned area 538,049 acres (840.702 sq mi; 217,741 ha)[1]
Cause Campfire
Land use Forest, mixed wildland/urban interface
Buildings
destroyed		 72[1]
Injuries 16[1]
File:Wallow fire smoke in ABQ.jpg
Smoke from Wallow Fire in Albuquerque, sunset, June 7, 2011
File:Wallow & H2 fires, 6-12-11.jpg
Wallow North and Horseshoe Two Fires (lower left), Arizona. NASA satellite image, midday, June 12, 2011. Vertical line is AZ-NM state line.

The Wallow Fire, named for the Bear Wallow Wilderness area where the fire originated, was a wildfire in eastern Arizona and a small part of western New Mexico, United States, in the White Mountains near Alpine.[2][3] It was started by an abandoned campfire. As of 26 June 2011, it had burned about 841 square miles (2,180 km2) in Apache, Greenlee, Graham, and Navajo counties in Arizona and Catron County in New Mexico,[1] and is thus the biggest fire recorded in Arizona. Nearly 6,000 people were evacuated.

Cause

The fire was started accidentally by two men who were camping. They cooperated with prosecutors and plead guilty to misdemeanor charges relating to mismanagement of their campfire.[4] In November, 2012 they were ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3.7 million.[5][6]

Response

The communities of Alpine,[1] Blue River, Greer, Nutrioso, Sunrise, Springerville, Eagar in Arizona,[7][8] and Luna in New Mexico were evacuated. In addition to other aircraft, a converted DC-10 Very Large Air Tanker ("VLAT"), capable of dropping up to 12,000 gallons of fire retardant in seconds, was deployed to help fight the fire.[9][10] On June 11, 2011, the leading edge of the fire advanced into Catron County, New Mexico.[11]

On June 12, evacuations were lifted for Eagar, Springerville and South Fork.[12] On June 14, the Wallow Fire became the largest fire in Arizona history, passing the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, which burned 732 square miles (1,900 km2) in 2002. On June 18 and 20, evacuations were lifted for Alpine[13] and Greer[14] and on June 21, the evacuation for Luna, NM was lifted.[15] Additionally, the Apache National Forest was closed to the public.[16]

On July 3, the fire was 95% contained. The Wallow Fire was declared 100% contained as of 6 p.m., July 8.[1]

Damage

Four commercial buildings were destroyed; 36 outbuildings were destroyed and one damaged; 32 residences were destroyed and 5 damaged. The estimated cost was $109 million.

Widespread smoke plume

The thick smoke in the NASA satellite image at right was only part of the smoky haze plaguing the continental United States in early June 2011. According to the U.S. Air Quality “Smog Blog,” smoke from fires in Arizona and New Mexico extended through Texas and Oklahoma up into to the Great Lakes region, affecting air quality for large areas east of the Rocky Mountains.[17][18][19]

See also

References

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External links

Wikinews-logo.svg News related to Smoke from Arizona fire spreads to other states at Wikinews

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "InciWeb incident page for the Wallow Fire", Retrieved 26 June 2011
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lacey, Mark and Frasch, Dan (June 9, 2011) "Arizona Wildfire Threatens Electrical Grid" The New York Times, archived 10 June 2011. A version of this article appeared in print on 10 June 2011, on page A-15 of the New York edition with the headline: "Gains Against Arizona Fire, but It Threatens Electric Grid".
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Query results
  9. ↑ "Wallow fire burns through Greer, Arizona" , Wildfire Today, June 9, 2011
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Audi, Tamara (9 June 2011) "Arizona Fires Worsen: Authorities Say Biggest Blaze Covers 389,000 Acres; 2 Towns Ordered to Evacuate" Wall Street Journal
  19. ↑ Query results
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