The Big Horn Fire Above Sabino Canyon, June 2020 — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Archive for the ‘Bighorn Fire’ Category
Fire Above The Canyon Leave a comment
Aspen Loop One Year Out After The Big Horn Fire 7 comments
SCVN Friday hikes on Mt. Lemmon have
Begun with more excitement than usual,
Last year’s hikes being a casualty of the
Big Horn Fire and the pandemic.
Marshall Gulch Parking Area
Leaving behind morning temperatures
In the mid-eights, we gathered at Marshall Gulch
To hike the Aspen Loop, combining the Aspen
And Marshall Gulch trails for a 4.3-mile hike.
Marshall Gulch survived the fire, as did
Most of the trail. But the Aspen Trail
Wasn’t so lucky with parts that burned
From the 1993 Aspen Fire burning again.
Aspen Trail (June 15, 2015)
Over the years, I watch aspens and pines
And many other native plants return
Among the charred remains of the Aspen Fire
Only now to experience that same fate.
Last year’s fires were followed by the driest year
On record, delaying the reclamation process
And trail clearing to provide for safe hiking
On the grayest powder covering the trails.
The mountain ferns were among the plants
To return only weeks after containing the fire,
Providing hope to those grieving over the lose
Of so much beauty found on these mountain trails.
Now so exposed, the trail seems longer
Each step requiring a watchful eye
For this out of shape hiker, navigating
The loose gravel and ankle turning rocks.
Just beyond the ridge, a line of trees
Was missed by the very erratic wildfire
As if it turned on a dime, redirecting
The firefighting crew from Montana.
Soon the trail turns away from the freshly
Scared land rambling among tall ponderosas
Shadows formed by the whole clear
Cloudless sky moving across the trail.
Images by kenne
I’ve hiked the trails on Mt. Lemmon
Now ten summers, where troubles cease,
untangled silent knowledge contemplating
A void in a world that exceeds stillness.
— kenne
Share this:
Sabino Creek — Ash From The Bighorn Fire 1 comment
Sabino Creek — Ash From The Bighorn Fire — Image by kenne
It happens that I get tired
of revolutionary cafes
and peacock poets
of narcissistic reflexives
and the songs of the deaf.
It happens that I am terrified
by this hardened generation
that rushes out in search of absolutes
fashions names and blasphemies,
doctrinizes on the pros and cons
of armed struggle,
and meditates, with a beer in its hand
and a sour cry on its lips
on the cadavers of others
Who are we?
Those same parishioners perhaps
who come and go indifferent
along the streets
on the Day of the Dead
with our hands full
of death’s-head cakes
and our hearts in ashes.
— from Day of the Dead In June by Lucha Corpi
Share this:
A Morning Walk Along The Tanque Verde Wash Leave a comment
A Morning Walk Along The Tanque Verde Wash — Images by kenne
Our community of Tanuri Ridge backs up to the Tanque Verde Wash. The wash continues to eat away at our property line.
Soon, this part of the trail will be washed away, along with the “branch art” monuments along the Tanque Verde banks.
Recent mountain rains in the Catalinas are beginning to bring ash from the Big Horn Fire to the wash.
— kenne
Share this:
A Recent Drive Up The Catalina Highway To Ski Valley 3 comments
Yesterday (08/05/20), I drove up the Catalina Highway to Mt. Lemmon. The highway was opened to the general public last Saturday morning for the first time since the Bighorn Fire began in early June. The mountain town of Summerheaven, successfully protected from the fire, is now open for business, although still having to follow HOVID-19 business regulations in Arizona.
Oracle Ridge and Mt. Lemmon Fire Station
Before entering Summerheaven, there are two ridges going north; Red Ridge and Oracle Ridge. Both ridges were severely burned during the 2003 Aspen Fire that destroyed almost all the homes in Summerheaven. Over the years since the Aspen Fire, the forest canopy has still not returned on these ridges. However, a lot of ground cover containing some bushes and small trees had returned. On June 17th, the two ridges were again burned. On June 19th, I posted two time-delay videos of the fire coming through the area pictured in the above photo. The fire station and most of the pines behind it were spared — not true of the storage building and new growth since the 2003 fire. It has now been 50 days since the fire occurred. Note how green the scared area has become with the return of ferns on the mountain slopes.
Except for the highway and Summerheaven, the public is not allowed to go anywhere in the National Forest. From what I was able to observe from the highway, most of the hiking trails with trailheads near the highway are ok, at least partially. Parts of Lower Butterfly Trail and Green Mountain Trail don’t look good from a distance.
My guess is that the trails in the forest around Summerheaven were burned like the two ridges north of Summerheaven. From a review of burn scar maps, the Marshall Gulch area to the north and west, which would include Carter Canyon, has been badly burned. For those of you who hike this area, It’s possible a lot of the Marshall and Mint Springs trails were destroyed. We may not know until November.
Since Sabino Creek originates along the Marshall Gulch Trail, the monsoon rains can result in a lot of potential flash flooding coming down through Sabino Canyon. So far, the rain amounts are very below average, but we are still in the monsoon season.
— kenne
Slideshow
Images Taken From Catalina Highway by kenne
Share this:
Waiting for Monsoon Rains 4 comments
July Sunset — Images by kenne
No monsoon
rain
scorch earth
fire
mountain trails
closed
sheltering at home,
still.
— kenne
Share this:
Bighorn Fire Images — Marty Horowitz 2 comments
Bighorn Fire (Sabino Canyon Smoke) — Images by Marty Horowitz
Ventana Canyon
Ventana Canyon
Ventana Canyon
Ventana Canyon
Ventana Canyon Slurry Drop
Redington Rincons
Ventana Canyon Sunrise Smoke
Share this:
Pearl-Bordered Fritillary 1 comment
Pearl-Bordered Fritillary Butterflies On Mt. Lemmon (07/08/13) — Image by kenne
I’m posting this Image from July 2013, because of the Bighorn Fire,
it’s not likely to see them this summer on Mt. Lemmon.
— kenne
Share this:
Smoke And Haze In The Foothills 3 comments
Smoke and Haze In the Catalina Foothills — Photo-Artistry by kenne
We must make the most of life’s ups and down
when downs seem to overwhelm
do everything to lift up life through images
revealing its most brilliants.
— kenne
Share this:
Bighorn Fire, July 1, 2020 Leave a comment
Bighorn Fire, July 1, 2020 (Tanuri Drive/River Road entrance to Tanuri Ridge) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
The Bighorn Fire continues to burn in the Santa Catalina Mountains this morning. The fire that started June 5 on the western edge of the Pusch Ridge Wilderness burning 118,370 acres straight across the mountains to Redington Pass on the eastside. The fire is now 54% contained. The Northern Rockies Incident Management Team has done an outstanding job protecting all “valued” areas. So far, no structures have been lost, and large wildlife continues to be spotted moving toward lower elevations. Smaller animals will tend to go underground.
— kenne
Share this:
Bighorn Fire 9 comments
Bighorn Fire — Photo-Artistry by kenne
The Bighorn Fire
is burning up
my mountain
all my tears
won’t put it out.
— kenne
Share this:
Bighorn Fire In Ventana Canyon 6 comments
Ventana Canyon is where we first hiked in the Catalinas in ten years ago.
Since then, I’ve hiked the trail into the canyon a least twice a year.
This image was taken last night (June 19, 2020).
This image is what it looked like this morning. Before dawn, you could still see the fireline.
I decided to drive up Craycroft Road to get a closer look. As the sun got higher in the east
I was able to get this image. It’s a good thing I had a mask, the smoke and smell were pronounced.
(Because of COVID-19, the county has mandated everyone wear a mask in public.)
— Images by kenne
Becoming is Superior to Being 