Fire Season Is Here

We've got a wildfire burning on the northwest side of town. People can look outside and see the fire running up the ridge. Last night it was at about 50 acres, but with winds expected gusting up to 25 mph, they're anticipating the fire will easily be over 100 acres by mid-morning. Thankfully the wind is blowing from the south/southwest, so it's actually blowing the fire up the ridge instead of down toward town. They've got two hot shot crews there now, and another on the way. Air tankers are supposed to come in this morning. They suspect the cause of the fire is from a lightening strike.

There's also a wildfire burning near Safford, further south. As of last night, only about 50 acres had burned.

Thankfully, neither of these fires is threatening where I live. :)

Almost three years ago a wildfire (the Aspen fire) raged through Mt. Lemmon, burning 80,000 acres (including pretty much the entire town of Summerhaven--cabins and businesses) before it was put out. It also crept over the western side of the mountains. At the time, I live on the northwest side and watched the fire from my driveway. Scary stuff. The mountain is starting to come back alive, but I remember driving up about 6 months after the fire. The landscape looked like something out of a science fiction movie--completely desolate.

I'm still feeling crappy--thinkin' I've got the beginnings of bronchitis. I"ll be calling my doctor this morning--hopefully she'll call me in a scrip for antibiotics and not make me go into the office. We'll see.

Have a good day, y'all!